


Tradition

by shockandlock



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Family, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mutual Pining, unbetaed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 01:44:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 38,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11818587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shockandlock/pseuds/shockandlock
Summary: Despite growing up without memories, Ace thinks life is going pretty good for him. He's a commander in his father's army and he has someone to anchor him to the joys of life. Too bad that the anchor himself makes his heart race- not that Marco would ever return Ace's feelings when he's searching so hard for a suitor. Thinking about that makes his heart hurt, and he just wants to get away from it all. So when two guys show up claiming to be his brothers, does he take the risk to run away from his feelings?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, all! This story was originally supposed to be for OPBigBang, but I never really ended up motivated to finish it on time. Finally, it's here! I wanted to get this out before I started college, so I really steamrolled out the ending. Unfortunately, it's unbetaed, but maybe I can fix it in the future. I hope you enjoy and please leave a comment! Art was done by my wonderful partner ezaria-umiko-art on tumblr!

Ace couldn't help questioning whatever higher powers that decided fate. Sure, he wasn't always the most behaved kid, especially when one considered his position, but he  _knew_  that he didn't deserve  _this_. Maybe if he was Sabo, he would be trying to think a way out of this situation, or if he was Luffy, Ace and Sabo would come to his rescue, but all he could focus on was not letting go of the rock he was desperately clinging to as water beat against his fingers to make things more slippery for him.

That and question how things ended up this way.

* * *

If Ace could describe how he felt about his life (well before this point at least), he would say that he was content. Some people would tell him that he wasn't being grateful enough because he was a prince (and a prince should be spoiled and happy, right?), but he was just being honest. Despite the fact that his father was a complete buffoon, Ace had quite possibly the best mother in the entire world and two of the greatest younger brothers ever. He wouldn't ask for anything more or anything less.

Many would consider their family strange- not that they knew much about them (people liked to think they know everything about anything just so they had something to talk about). The royal family was rather secretive, which caused much gossip among commoners and nobles alike. They couldn't help themselves since it wasn't very common for kings and queens to hide their children from the public. Royals from other kingdoms loved to show off their children as their pride and joy, the symbols of the future of a kingdom. Not Roger and Rouge. Raftel was too big a target not to keep the children safe. Besides, if anyone actually found out about them, the kingdom would be in uproar.

Ace was the only blood prince after all, but that didn't change the fact that Sabo and Luffy were his brothers. Their bond was unbreakable. The people in the town actually knew of them- just not as the princes of the kingdom. Whenever they would sneak off (though he was sure that Roger and Rouge knew of their excursions), Ace would hear commoners muttering about "those three troublemaking brothers again". He couldn't really argue with that statement. The three of them  _were_  trouble magnets.

They weren't trouble magnets any less the day of Ace's thirteenth birthday.

"Ace!" Luffy yelled, jumping up and down on the plush bed. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Ace groaned as he rolled over in his bed, Sabo doing the same. The three of them shared a room and a bed because there was so much room. Usually, Sabo would be the one to wake them all up, but if there was a celebration that day, Luffy would be up as soon as possible.

"It's your birthday, Ace! Wake up!"

He flopped his whole body down onto Ace, who grunted in protest at Luffy's sudden weight. "Get off me, Luffy!"

"But there are presents!"

"And it would be a  _present_  if you left me alone to sleep." It wasn't often that they got to sleep in since they were usually busy with their lessons with Miss Makino. Their birthdays were a special exception. ' _My boys deserve it on their special day!'_ their mother would say.

"Might as well, Ace," Sabo sighed. He sat up, tugging at Luffy's arm so he would get off of Ace. "We're already awake."

"Speak for yourself."

The door burst open, and Ace grabbed a pillow to muffle the noise about to ensue. He knew it was coming since birthdays were the only days that servants did not come to wake them. "Happy Birthday!" Roger shouted as he scattered a handful of confetti into the air.

"I told you not to do that, Roger," Rouge said, shuffling past him into the room. "You're making more work for the servants."

He merely grinned. "They understand."

"Then I'm sure you understand that  _you'll_ be the one cleaning this up later."

"Yes, dear."

Luffy laughed, singing aloud, "Dad's in trouble!"

"Idiot," Ace muttered. He finally sat up, knowing that there was no way he would be going back to sleep now. "Hey, Ma."

Rouge smiled, holding her arms out as she walked to his bedside. "Happy Birthday, Ace!" she exclaimed before pressing a kiss onto his forehead and pulling him into a hug. Rouge gave the best hugs, gentle and warm. "You're growing up so fast, my little fireball!"

"I'm only thirteen, Ma." He blushed at the nickname, but she was never going to stop.

"And so?" she said. "I already know you're going to be a strapping young man! It's never too early to be proud."

"Give the boy some room, Rouge." Roger had done quick work of picking up the messy confetti, which he had left as a heap on one of the desks in the room. "Happy Birthday, my boy."

Ace muttered a "thank you" in acknowledgement. For the most part, he ignored him. ' _Ignore him and maybe he'll stop being annoying,'_  Ace often told himself- not that it made much of a difference.

"Now there's no need to act like that on your birthday," Rouge scolded, and Ace couldn't contain a roll of his eyes. "There's a feast of a breakfast waiting for you in the dining room."

"Food!" Luffy cheered, and with that, he raced out the door with Roger, tugging along Sabo, who yelled at him to slow down.

Rouge giggled at their enthusiasm. "My, so quick."

"You know how they are," Ace said as he hopped to the ground, actually remembering to put shoes on his feet so that they weren't cold against the stone floors. "Let's go, Ma, or else they'll eat everything."

"Hm, wait just a moment, Ace." Ace froze.

'Wait a moment' hardly ever meant something good. He tried cycling through options of what she might say, trying to come up with a possible response to any of them. It failed, and he stupidly blurted out, "I didn't do it."

A could've sworn he felt a layer of sweat forming on his forehead when he saw Rouge raise her eyebrow. "You're not in trouble, but if you have anything to say…"

Ace laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Er- it's nothing, Ma."

"I guess I can let it slide today, young man."

"Really, Ma. I promise."

He sighed in relief when her suspicious glare was replaced with a gentle smile. "Well if you're really being honest, then I guess I can hand over your present then."

"Present?" Ace asked. Sure, it was tradition to receive presents, but his mother had never pulled him off alone before. "What about the others?"

"Well, Roger was supposed to stay up here to give it to you too, but he was eager to eat to say the least," Rouge said. "Now put this on and let's get downstairs before all the food is gone!" Ace's vision was suddenly obscured by whatever Rouge had put atop his head, but she had vanished before Ace could ask about it (she liked food just as much as the rest of the family and she wanted her fill of the breakfast feast).

After standing in place for a few moments out of sheer astonishment, he finally took his present off of his head to get a good look at it, and once he did, he couldn't control his grin.

After all, what kind of prince wore an orange cowboy hat?

He remembered making a comment about it when he had been passing a costume shop with Sabo and Luffy one day, but he didn't think that either of them would remember it to mention it to their parents. He had been feeling lonely, being the only one without a hat, but that feeling was no longer, especially seeing how much spirit had been poured into this hat.

Obviously, his family had taken some creative liberties with the once blank canvas. He was guessing that the two exaggerated faces had been Roger's contribution, while the sleek and shiny red beads had been Sabo's. The skull dangling off the string of the hat was obviously Luffy's because "Skulls are cool!" and nothing screamed his mother more than the red hibiscus pinned securely into the rim of the hat.

Ace smiled, holding the hat close to his chest before he returned it to its rightful place on his head and made his way downstairs.

"Hppffy Bifrdy!" Luffy's mouth had been full of food when he said that. He splattered crumbs everywhere, making Ace duck away to keep his hat clean.

"Oi, watch it, Lu," he muttered, but he still smiled to himself.

"How are you liking that hat?" Sabo asked, before taking another bite of some scrambled eggs.

"You told Mom and Dad, didn't you?"

Roger laughed when Ace asked that. "Well, it's not as if you were going to, my boy! You need to open up more."

"Yeah, yeah," Ace sighed as he rolled his eyes, clambering into his seat at the table. Thankfully, the platters in front of his plates remained piled with food (something that would only happen on his birthday surely). Without wasting another second- because he knew that Luffy and Sabo would steal the food eventually- he heaped eggs and bacon onto his plate and began scarfing down.

"So, boys," Rouge said to get their attention, though Ace didn't stop eating. "Were you planning to go out today?"

"Yep!" Luffy answered enthusiastically.

"We won't be gone long, Ma," Sabo reassured her. "We already know that we have to be back early."

"You better. Don't want to be late for the celebration, do we?"

"Really, Ma. We'll be fine," Ace said. Besides, there was no way that he was going to miss his birthday dinner. Of course, they never had big public celebrations, but the servants of the castle were like family and they too enjoyed a celebration.

"I know you will, boys." Rouge smiled at them proudly. "Anything you want to say before they leave, Roger?"

He merely grinned. "Bring back a bear or a crocodile!"

All Ace could do was scoff as he finished up his breakfast.

They were just supposed to carry on like normal until the feast, but that's when everything began.

"So any actual idea of what we're going to do?" Sabo asked, swinging his feet back and forth as he sat atop a log.

Ace shrugged. "Same thing we always do, right? We'll just do our rounds and go home." It was pretty important for them to train. Princes needed to be strong to protect their kingdom after all, though Ace really just wanted to become stronger for his own sake. "Why do you ask?"

"Ace is boring!" Luffy whined.

"What's wrong with doing what we usually do when we come out here?"

"I know we don't come out here every day to train. That's too much, but we don't have to fight  _every_  time," Sabo said. "Why don't we go explore like we used to?"

"It's not like there's anything else to explore."

"That's a lie and you know it."

Ace wouldn't admit it, but Sabo was right. The wilderness here was so expansive that there was no way to have explored it all at their age. Surely, there was something he wanted to see, right? Yet that wasn't the case. He was content for now.

Sabo and Luffy didn't seem to agree with him after their first few rounds.

It had been Ace and Luffy who were fighting at the time when Ace knocked Luffy flat once more.

"I'm bored!" Luffy whined, rolling along the ground.

"You've never complained before," Ace said. "Aren't you the one who's usually asking for more rounds?"

"But Sabo said we were gonna explore!"

Ace turned to said brother, glaring at him. He smiled guiltily, fiddling with his top hat. "I may or may not have found a cool cave last time we were hunting, and I may or may not have told Luffy that were were going to bring you there."

"I wanna see the cave!"

"We're not going," Ace answered. He crossed his arms. "It's just some stupid little cave."

"Ace, it's not stupid."

"There might be treasure!" Luffy exclaimed, and he bounded away before either Sabo or Ace could stop him.

"Luffy, come back!" Ace yelled, but Luffy wasn't going to listen to him. "Great."

"He wouldn't want to wander off on his own if you let him explore in the first place," Sabo said, but naturally, they continued on after their little brother. "We're just trying to make you happy, you know. You've been way too angry lately."

Ace grit his teeth as he continued to run. He wouldn't deny that his change in mood had been noticeable, but Sabo and Luffy couldn't do a thing about it. He wished they would just leave it alone- they would find out about it eventually.

The sound of rushing water hit his ears when they approached the edge of the forest, and Ace and Sabo skidded to a stop. Water. Luffy had come this way, and Luffy- Luffy couldn't swim. Ace swore that his heart would've stopped and he would've passed out right there if not for the sheer adrenaline pumping through his veins. "Luffy!" He ran alongside the riverbank, following the flow of the rapids. "Luffy!"

When he saw their little brother barely keeping his head above the water by clinging to a no doubt slippery rock, Ace's first thought was to jump right in and save him. Before he could dive in though, Sabo grabbed the back of his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Ace growled. "We have to save Lu!" He tugged against Sabo's grip, but his brother being of equal strength made things difficult.

"You can't just jump right in! Y-you'll get swept away too!" The way Sabo's voice broke in the middle of his words made Ace snap his gaze towards him. His eyes were wide as he looked between Ace and Luffy, and his grip was tight, but shaky. Ace knew Sabo, and he knew that Sabo's feelings were more intense than Ace's right now.

"Sab', just think right now! We need to save Lu!"

Sabo nodded, but Luffy's cries weren't helping either of them to stay calm. Suddenly, Sabo took his jacket off, tying one of his sleeves to his staff. As if reading Sabo's mind, Ace grabbed the other sleeve, gripping it tight as he jumped into the river. It would be hard for Sabo to hold on for long, so he knew he had to move quickly.

"Luffy!" Ace extended his arm, fingers scrabbling at the rock that Luffy was holding onto. "Grab onto the jacket!"

"But I'll slip!"

"Trust me!" With the water splashing in their faces , Ace could barely see Luffy's lip shaking, but in the next instant, Luffy lunged for the jacket's sleeve, successfully clutching it.

Ace was about to shout for Sabo to pull them back, but that's when he noticed something that made his heart sink: Sabo's jacket was tearing. They were too heavy to both hold on, and with the force of the river against Sabo pulling them back, there was no way their makeshift rescue device would survive.

Unless...

If he could slow time to think, he would, but it was impossible to even imagine with how fast the water was moving around them. Time was running out, and Luffy's naïve cries of how they were both alright broke his heart, but the only thing on his mind right now was ensuring Luffy's safety.

Ace's body acted on its own as he called out to Sabo, and right as he began to feel the tug on the jacket, he let go.

"Ace!"

Ace could've laughed at how ironic this was. It was  _his_  birthday, yet  _he_  was the one who wasn't going to make it out alive. As cruel as the world was, at least Sabo and Luffy were safe.

Hours, minutes, or mere seconds could have passed, but Ace wouldn't have known. Slowly, his world turned dark and his grip slackened, and in the next instant, he was swept away.

' _Thank you for loving me. Say sorry to Ma for me, will you?'_

* * *

"...ly inju... lucky… ve"

"Just... ere?"

The voices around him kept fading in and out, and he wasn't quite sure what they were trying to say. Were they talking about him? He struggled to open his eyes.

"...king up!"

"Get… urse!"

He didn't realize how sore he was, but it was easy to realize that now when he saw that there were bandages on his hands (his body felt rather heavy as well). Just what had happened?

"I'm so glad you're awake, yoi," someone said, and he turned his attention to the boy sitting next to him. He smiled down at him, and somehow, his half-lidded eyes filled him with a sense of sincerity. "I don't know what I would've done if we weren't able to save you."

"Wh-what happened?" He barely managed to get his words out, still disoriented at the unfamiliar surroundings.

"I found you out on the water, just floating next to our ship. I'm honestly surprised that you were staying afloat," the blond said. "You're very lucky."

Before he could say anything to agree- because it was a miracle that he was alive- a woman in a nurse's uniform entered the room.

"I heard the boy is awake?" she asked.

He nodded, attempting to sit up, but the nurse stopped him. "I don't think so," she said. "You're due for a checkup, boy."

He would have protested, but he had a feeling that that wouldn't have stopped her anyways, so he shut his mouth. It was probably for the best that he had done so, since he hadn't realized the extent of his injuries. His legs were bandaged as well, and pain shot through them when he tried to move them.

"We think you broke them from falling from high up," the nurse explained. "You probably got caught in some sort of waterfall. Just what the hell were you doing out there?"

A waterfall? He didn't remember anything like that. "I don't know," he answered, feeling rather stupid as he did so.

"I think we should start with the easier stuff then," the blond next to him said. He still hadn't left the room even during his examination. "My name is Marco, yoi."

"Ace," he said back, answer rolling off his tongue naturally. His hand twitched to reach over and shake Marco's out of politeness, but the stopped himself, realizing that it was a bad idea with his hand bandaged.

"So, Ace, where are you from?" Marco asked.

Ace opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

It was no wonder that he couldn't remember why he fell. He couldn't remember anything else at all.

He closed his eyes in an attempt to think, to search his mind for the answer, but all he could manage was, "I- I don't know. I can only remember my name."

Ace opened his eyes, immediately wishing that he hadn't. He couldn't take their pitying stares. "I'm sorry," the nurse said.

Marco turned to the bedside table, picking something up and handing it to Ace. "If it's any reassurance, we found this with you."

The object Marco handed him was an obnoxiously orange hat, adorned with ridiculous accessories. This was his? What kind of life had he been living if he owned this. Definitely not a normal one considering that the most normal thing about the hat was the bright red hibiscus.

Ace remained silent, and no one else spoke for the next few minutes until the nurse asked Marco to come out into the hall with her. Now that he was alone, all he could do was think, but about what? His mind was a mere blank slate. He had nothing to think about. It felt as if a long time had passed when the door opened once more, and Ace was surprised when Marco and a nurse weren't alone.

The size of the man was rather intimidating, but the his smile and gentle eyes made Ace relax. "It's nice to meet you, son," he said. Son? Why was he calling him son?

"You're not my dad, are you?"

The man let out a booming laugh. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." His words only confused Ace more. "I am Marco's father, Whitebeard. Your name is Ace?"

Ace nodded.

"I assure you that we'll do everything we can to help you."

"I don't think you  _can_  help," he answered. "There's nothing I can tell you."

When Whitebeard didn't respond right away, Ace knew his words hit the mark. His situation was hopeless, and he had no doubt that Marco and Whitebeard would drop him off at the first port this ship came across.

He suddenly felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Marco, who offered him a smile. "It'll be fine, yoi," he reassured, "so please don't frown like that."

"It seems that Marco was thinking the same thing as me," Whitebeard mused.

"I don't understand."

"Ace, would you like to become my son?"

* * *

With nowhere else to go, Ace ended up accepting their offer, even if it did take him a few days to think over his decision. He had wanted to see if that would be long enough to let at least  _some_  of his memories return, but still, nothing. He only remembered basic things, general knowledge, yet his mind was no longer blank.

Marco wasn't overly talkative, but he would come in every day on the journey back to Marco and Whitebeard's homeland and sit by Ace's bedside to keep him company. Sometimes they would talk, and other times, Marco would sit and read while Ace napped. It was nice to know that he wasn't alone. Whitebeard would come in with Marco sometimes too, and they would tell him about their family.

Ace had a feeling things were going to be crazy judging from what he heard of their words. How could someone even support that many children anyways? Their stories were still entertaining though, and the definitely got a laugh out of Ace.

Other than that, the only other visitors Ace got were nurses, who would check on his condition. He was well, according to them, but a Healer would have greatly helped to speed the process. Marco told him that there were others on the ship, but the crew was told to steer clear for the time being in order to allow Ace to heal- though he also said they he could meet them later if he so wished.

Ace didn't question how long it had taken them to arrive when he finally heard the shouts that they were approaching port. It had felt like an eternity since he had been outside. The sun was almost foreign to him, as he had to shield his eyes from the sudden influx of light. His legs still hadn't healed completely too, so Marco had to support his weight as they made their way to land.

When everything adjusted for him, the first thing Ace noticed was how many people there were, and they were definitely watching the three of them- and  _cheering_.

"Welcome home, Your Majesty!"

"Your Highness! Look over here!"

Your Majesty? Your Highness? Ace  _knew_  what those words meant, and it didn't take him long to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Convenient that neither Marco nor Whitebeard ever mentioned it.

Ace stared at Marco with wide eyes. "You never said that you were a king and prince."

"It never seemed important," Marco replied, smirking. "And you're one now too, yoi."

Ace was speechless as he boarded the horse-drawn carriage ride to his new home- which was apparently the castle. Whitebeard, however, laughed as they boarded- probably because of the way Marco had to keep closing Ace's mouth for him.

After swatting Marco's hands away a couple of times (because having him do that for him was seriously embarrassing), Ace turned to the open window. There were still crowds lined along the streets to watch the carriage, but that's not what Ace was interested in: there were so many different shops and buildings- he lost count as they went by- and he could definitely smell the delicious scent of a cooked meal. They must have been passing a restaurant. His stomach growled, the sound filling the entire carriage, and he blushed.

"Hungry, yoi?" Marco asked. "Don't worry. We'll have a feast tonight."

"Good idea, son," Whitebeard said. "To celebrate our new family member."

"You would really do that for me?"

"We won't be able to avoid it when everyone else meets you," Marco said. "It'll be loud."

"You missed them though, son. They're all very close."

"Really?" Ace glanced at Marco next to him. He was closing his eyes. "Is something wrong, Marco?"

"He's just going to miss the peace and quiet of just being alone with you, son."

"P-pops!"

For once, Ace could see Marco blush, and the sight made him grin wide. "I'll still be here, Marco."

"Oi, don't get the wrong idea."

Ace moved closer, nuding Marco with his elbow. Marco nudged back, unable to resist cracking even a small smile as well.

They walked off of the carriage together as well- right into the crowd of Marco's other siblings.

"Marco!" The smallest looking one of the bunch broke away, hugging Marco and throwing them off balance. Ace yelped as he gripped Marco's shoulder. The kid stared at Ace blankly. "Who is  _he?"_

Marco was about to answer when a teen with strange curved hair started to chatter. " _Someone_  brought us a new brother!" he sang.

"Calm down," another one sighed. "You'll scare him."

"Er- he's not really scaring me," Ace said, but it seemed as if he wasn't loud enough over everyone else talking.

Whitebeard cleared his throat from behind them, and everyone quieted down. "It's good to be home, my children. Now, we have a son to welcome!"

The feast was hectic, but delicious, and Ace already felt like he was a part of the family.


	2. Thirteen Years

"How are your legs now?" Izo asked as Ace sat on the side of his new bed. His legs were no longer wrapped up, but they were still a bit numb from the healing magic that finished the slow process.

"Kinda weird," Ace answered. "I don't know if I can stand yet."

"That's fine. I'll just take your measurements later."

"Ah- um." Ace hesitated. "You make clothes, right? Are you really a prince?"

Instead of glaring like Ace thought he would, Izo giggled. "It's been a few days, and you're only asking this now?"

"I'm sorry."

"You're curious. I don't mind."

All the siblings shared rooms here in the castle. Izo had been alone in his before Ace came- mostly because he had kept his fabrics draped over every single piece of furniture. Thankfully, he had cleaned things up for Ace, though Ace didn't have many things of his own besides his hat.

Izo wasn't as loud as some of the others like Haruta and Thatch. He definitely liked conversation though- much of it gossip, but Ace was curious, and he didn't mind listening. Although, he did miss just sitting with Marco in the infirmary of the ship.

"Why do you ask though?"

"I can't be that useful." He had quickly discovered that everyone here, despite being royalty, had some sort of hobby that proved to be useful around the castle. Izo could make clothes, Thatch could cook, and even Haruta's speed was good for passing along messages. Ace didn't have any of that.

Izo frowned, moving to sit next to Ace on the bed. "Oh, honey." He pat Ace on the back. "Give yourself a break. You'll find something in time."

It was easy to say that when you had memories and you knew what you liked to do, Ace wanted to say, but decided against it. It wasn't good to alienate your roommate.

Someone knocked on their door, cutting off their conversation.

"Come in!" Izo called, and Marco stepped in, smiling at Ace.

"Good morning, yoi," he greeted. "Ace? Pops wants to see you."

He nodded, placing his feet on the ground, but when he tried to stand, he almost fell over. Thankfully, Marco acted quickly, rushing to Ace's side to catch him.

"Need help?"

Ace blushed. "Th-thank you, but I can walk."

"Alright. Just let me know if you do."

Ace could have sworn he heard Izo giggling as he and Marco left the room.

"So are you settling in well?" Marco asked. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to check up on you in the past few days."

"It's fine," Ace said. "Ah- Izo told me that you have a lot of lessons to go to anyways."

"Yeah," Marco answered. "I have a lot to learn if I'm going to take over for Pops."

Marco was the most useful of them all. He was the  _crown prince_. It was a wonder why he was so nice to Ace when all he could do at the moment was say ' _I don't know.'_

Ace felt a hand slip into his own. "Is something wrong? You're frowning."

He was quick to deny this fact, though it was obvious that Marco didn't buy his lie by the way he raised his eyebrow. Ace sighed, finally admitting his troubles to the one who had been sitting by his side for all this time, yet to his surprise, Marco squeezed his hand to comfort him. "I don't think you're useless at all, yoi."

"You can do so much more than I can though."

"Then I'll help you  _find_  something." Marco stopped their trip to Whitebeard's room. "Ace, you're a part of our family now, and no matter how you feel, we would never think any less of you."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course. To start, why don't you sit with me during my lessons?"

* * *

"How are you holding up, son?" Whitebeard asked as the carriage rumbled along the path. "Find your  _spark_  of inspiration yet?"

Ace had been spending time with each of his siblings: cooking with Thatch and sewing with Izo just to name a few (and he was lucky that he was allowed back in the room after the latter incident). Yet he still hadn't found something that he liked to do.

This time, Pops had taken him along on a diplomatic trip of sorts to see if negotiation was his talent, but the trip was boring to him. He would leave those trips to Marco and Pops.

"I don't know if it's ever going to happen," Ace grumbled, slouching against the wall.

"You don't know that. Do not give up heart, son."

"Okay, Pops." Somehow, when Pops said something, it was easy to believe. It was warm, comforting.

"Now, son. You can sleep until we get back, hm?"

Ace nodded, scooting closer to his father and resting his head against his arm. It would be nice to just sleep to take his mind off of it, and so he closed and began to drift off…

An abrupt shout snapped him to awareness. The carriage had suddenly stopped. Curious, Ace stood up to go outside, but Whitebeard stopped him by placing a large hand on his shoulder.

"Pops? Is something wrong?"

"Be still my son," he warned. "It may be dangerous." Yet despite his warning, he himself stood. "I will go."

"Wait!" Ace's warning didn't stop him from leaving.

Ace couldn't sit still though. The seconds ticked by as he listened carefully, but he still could not discern what was happening. He couldn't just leave Pops when they were both in danger! What could he do?

Before he realized what was happening, he found that he was gripping the handle of the door, turning it ever so slowly. Ace's body was moving on its own.

"You brats have some nerve to attack this carriage."

"All in good fun,  _Your Majesty."_

The men surrounding Whitebeard all laughed at their comrade's words, making Ace clench his fists. How dare they laugh at Pops like that! He stepped closer, his foot catching on something solid on the ground. Thankfully, he was able to catch himself, and the gang of hooded men hadn't noticed him yet. He bent down to pick up the solid stick he had almost tripped on, gripping it tight.

"I think you know why we're here,  _Your Majesty,"_  the man continued.

"I suppose I do, but make no mistake, I won't go down without a fight." He held out a hand, and the air seemed to crackle around him, yet even though the assassins seemed to flinch, Ace knew Pops would not hurt him.

One of the others aimed a bow at Pops, the tip of the arrow a shiny black. "Think w-we don't know you're a magic user, huh?"

"Boys, get ready!"

Upon the leader's command, the assassins readied their weapons, holding up their knives, swords, and bows. For a moment, neither side seemed to move, but just when the leader was about to yell out, Ace swung.

The branch was surprisingly solid- that, or the leader was incredibly weak. His surprise attack was enough distraction to send the other men into a panic. One of them fired an arrow in Ace's direction, but he dodged it, lunging forward to knock the man flat. It was a frenzy of flying weapons, but Ace's body moved for him, and he was unscathed.

At the end of it all, Ace finally came back to reality, realizing that he was surrounded by unconscious bodies, and it seemed Pops hadn't moved at all. Slowly, he closed his fist, and his magic energy faded away as he continued to stare at Ace.

They were silent for a long time, but finally, the shock hit Ace, and he dropped his weapon. He gasped, falling to the ground on his knees.

"O-oh gods. What did I- what d-did I do?" Pops had accepted him into his family, and he had blown it already.

He was a monster. " _Monster."_

When he felt that hand on his shoulder, he flinched instead of leaning into the touch. He tried scrambling away, but Pops caught him.

"Calm down, my son," he said.

"Pops, I'm sorry! I… I don't know what happened."

"It's quite alright."

"Please don't hate me." Ace hadn't even realized that his gasps dissolved into weak whispers.

"Now why would I hate you?" Pops asked. He hugged Ace close. "You are my son now, and I would never think any less of you. You were only trying to protect me , and in that, you are strong."

Ace looked up, eyes wide. "You're not mad?"

"Mad? My son, you have potential! Let's see if we can manage this spark of yours!"


	3. Fourteen Years

Ace grinned, setting the end of his staff on the ground again. Another round won- not that that was surprising. Ace hadn't remembered much of anything in the past few years, but fighting came almost as naturally as breathing to him. He didn't question it. It kept him going after all.

A hand clapped on his back. "Good job, Ace!" Vista congratulated. "Keep it up and you'll be a Commander in no time."

"Give it time, Vista," Jozu said. "He still has years to go."

Ace shrugged. "You never know. I might just break your guys' record."

"I don't know about that! Becoming a Commander at seventeen is quite the accomplishment, you know."

Ace was glad that Jozu and Vista had become Commanders so early despite his teasing. They let him train more than the old Commanders would- though "train" was a  _loose_  term. Not that they were weak, of course, but rather Ace was apparently freakishly strong.

Who knew?

"So who's next?" Ace asked, but when he turned around, no one had bothered to step up. He could've sworn that the crowd looked thinner as well…

"Let them be for now, Ace. Marco's probably waiting for you."

The bell chimed as if responding to Jozu's words and Ace laughed nervously. He hadn't realized what time it was. "Gotta go!" He dropped his staff as he ran towards the castle. Marco would scold him if he brought it into the library again. At least Marco wouldn't comment on his smell like Izo would- though Ace already knew what he would say when he arrived.

"Late again, yoi," Marco said, smiling in amusement at Ace, who was panting heavily from his run. "And you need a bath."

"You usually don't complain about smell."

"No, I don't, but you have dirt all over your face again, yoi." He stood up, holding a cloth in his hand. "Hold still."

"Oi," Ace muttered as Marco wiped his face clean. "Why do you even have that?"

"Well, if you'd stop tracking dirt into the library, I wouldn't."

Ace glanced at the carpet, which had more than a few muddy footprints embedded into its plush, deep red. "Fair enough." He would have to apologize to the servants later, even if the mess could be cleaned in a snap with magic.

"Ready to start now?" Marco asked, pulling a chair out for Ace. The book was already opened up.

"Yep!"

Ace was glad that Marco started to tutor him. Originally, he would sit in the library while Marco himself was learning, but Marco's teacher was just so boring! After  _several_  attempts to make things more interesting, the teacher had banned him from the library- so long as he was in there. Marco didn't mind at least, even if Ace was messy.

"Er- Marco? How would you say this word?"

"Conflagration."

If you asked Ace a year ago how he was, he never would have guessed that he would have been able to settle into a rhythm, and yet, here he was. And  _absolutely_  he was content.

* * *

Pops hadn't come down for dinner yet, and usually, he was the first one to arrive so he could wait for all his sons. The table was silent, and no one had touched their food yet (though Ace was tempted to, as his stomach growled).

"Do you know what happened, Marco?" Ace asked.

"Pops isn't sick, is he?" Along with Izo, everyone began to chatter, voicing their concerns for their father.

They didn't quiet down until Marco stood up. "We need to give Pops some time alone." He was unable to say anything else once they cried out for an explanation.

"Why? What happened?"

"Just tell us what's wrong!"

"Let's go up to him!"

"Stop!" Marco yelled before anyone could stand up out of their seats. He sighed. "A messenger came for him this afternoon," he said, getting quieter with every word. "King Roger is dead."

It seemed as if everyone became still in that moment, but Ace didn't understand.

He tapped Marco's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but who is that?"

Marco's eyes were downcast as he turned towards Ace. "Roger was a good friend of Pops, They haven't actually communicated in a long time, but Pops would always tell us stories about him from their younger days. You could tell how close they were," Marco whispered. "And now they won't ever get to talk again."

If Ace had ever experienced a death in his life, he didn't remember, so he didn't know what grief felt like either. Yet something made his heart sink, even if he could only imagine what Pops felt like right now. And on top of it all, he was alone right now.

"I…" He swallowed, hesitating for a moment. "I'm going to go see him!"

"Wait, Ace!" Marco reached out to grab his arm, but Ace dashed away towards Whitebeard's room, though he took a slight detour to grab something from Marco's room.

When he reached Pops's room, he thought about turning around and leaving him alone, but he quickly wiped his reservations away and burst through the door.

"Look, Pops!" Ace stood proud and tall, fists on his hips. "I have a mustache!"

The ink was still a bit wet on his skin of course, so the mustache he drawn on using Marco's ink pot was smudged, but the newly added facial feature was still clear.

Pops stared at him in silence for so long that Ace thought he had done something wrong. He bit his lip, about to turn around and leave, but in the next moment, Pops laughed like he always did, wiping the corners of his eyes.

"You look good son!" he complimented through his chortles, yet his laugh eventually quieted down when Ace began to speak.

"Are you alright, Pops?" Ace asked. Though he was serious, he didn't have the heart to wipe the mustache away.

"I'm not much of a mourner, son," he said. "I will be better in time."

"Okay." Ace didn't know what else to say, and the room was quiet. He was suddenly subconscious of the ink on his face, and he blushed. "Um- I can go-"

"Nonsense, son." Whitebeard patted a space on the bed, gesturing for Ace to sit. "Come here. Let me tell you a story."

Ace smiled again. "Thanks, Pops."

His siblings would yell at him for not including them in his attempt to cheer up Pops, but that didn't matter to Ace. He was able to make Pops laugh, and that was enough for him.

* * *

In his time here so far, Ace had never been in this room. He just couldn't help himself. Who wouldn't be fascinated with magic?

Ace thought it was silly that the magic training area was kept separate. It's not like anyone was going to get hurt, though things had been like that since the founding of the kingdom. He doubted anyone would get mad at him for sneaking in here, but it would be embarrassing to be kicked out.

Though it was nighttime, moonlight shined in through the glass, dome ceiling. He gasped at the sight of the room illuminated by those shining beams, showcasing the wide open training room. There was a set of doors at the other end: the magic archives. The large communications crystal out front of it practically lit his way forward. He ran towards it, footsteps echoing as his feet hit the floor.

Just as he would about to reach the archives, a figure behind the ornately carved post holding the crystal moved.

"Gah!" Ace gasped, stopping in his tracks.

Marco raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing in here at this hour?"

Ace thought about shooting the question right back at him, but since Marco  _was_  a magic user, he had more reason to be in the magic hall than Ace did. "N-nothing." His face felt hot.

"Sure," Marco said, but Ace could hear his quiet sigh afterwards. "Come with me." Suddenly, Marco took his hand, leading him to the center of the room. They laid down in the center, right under the dome.

"Beautiful, right?" Marco asked. The moon and the stars of the night sky shone their light through the sky dome, reflecting off the hall's floor and illuminating the room in a soft glow.

"Yeah," Ace agreed, voice quiet. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. He wished that he had come here sooner.

Marco squeezed his hand again, and Ace looked over at him. "Be honest with me, Ace."

Marco didn't even need to ask again, but Ace struggled to find the words. Mere stutters came out.

"It's fine if you're curious, yoi."

"Y-yeah," Ace finally admitted. Who could blame him? He hadn't seen too much magic, but it was just fascinating! The way that they could just speed up healing, or clean a mess with in a snap. But Ace's real interest lied in its other uses.

He had seen Jozu use his magic to knock the lights out of his enemies, and Pops almost used his magic to protect him (but Ace still  _felt_  the power). He wanted to see more. There haven't been many major attacks, and therefore, few chances for him to see magic in action. "I just wanted to see."

"More magic? You'll get a chance."

"I know. I just couldn't help myself."

"I could show you."

Ace sat up, looking at Marco with wide eyes. "You could?" He knew Marco was a magic user, but no one ever talked of it too much. He opened his mouth to question further, but before he could say anything, a flash of blue overtook his senses and suddenly, there was a magnificent bird right in front of him.

Ace read about birds like him in books with Marco, but he didn't think he would ever see one.

"A Phoenix…"

Marco bowed his head down, and Ace realized that he had been reaching out unconsciously, fingers dancing in the air. He reached out to try to grab Marco's feathers, but fire swirled around his fingers and slipped through.

It was over in the next instant when Marco reverted to his normal form, and Ace's hand felt more empty than ever.

"I should take you flying sometime."

Ace took a moment to process Marco's words, but when he finally did, he nodded. "I'd like that."


	4. Sixteen Years

"Remind me what we're looking for again?" Haruta asked, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

Thatch shrugged. "Ace never said."

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Ace asked, stopping in his tracks to smile at his brothers.

"So you don't know."

"Nope! No clue!"

While Ace had no idea what the cryptic map lead to, his words were not the complete truth. He had found it in the magic archives- not that Thatch or Haruta knew about it- so it must have been something to do with magic, right? He was glad that Thatch and Haruta agreed to come with him in the first place. If he had asked Marco, he was sure that he would have been stopped without a second thought.

"Sleeping outside will be fun!" Ace exclaimed as he continued walking through the forest. According to what Haruta said, the journey would take two or three days at least. Ace hadn't ever traveled outside of the kingdom like this. Even if he had traveled with Pops a couple of times, going off on his own volition on an adventure like this made him feel free. "Yo, Thatch, can I have an apple?"

"I knew I should've packed more," Thatch grumbled. He pulled one out of his bag nonetheless and tossed it in Ace's direction. "I can't believe you're already hungry."

"Well, with  _his_  appetite…"

"Can't travel on an empty stomach, now can we?" Ace bit into the apple with a loud crunch, slurping up the juices.

They trekked across the forest until nightfall when they lay down their bedrolls against the hard ground. They lit a fire in the middle for warmth, though they knew it would eventually die out. "So who's on watch first?"

Ace volunteered. He was too excited to sleep.

"Looks like this is the place," Haruta said. He wasn't looking at the map, but just looking at the cave in front of them was enough. The carvings around the entrance couldn't be a coincidence. Someone definitely hid something here.

"Let's go then!" Ace exclaimed, almost charging right into the cave. However, Thatch grabbed the back of his collar, stopping him in his tracks.

"Torch?"

Ace laughed sheepishly. "Oh right."

Even with the light of the fire, they still could not see the end of the cave. Just how far in did this place go?

"Oh god," he heard Thatch whisper. He looked down at the ground, freezing in his place when he saw a charred corpse at his feet. Ace shut his eyes, trying to forget the sight at he took another step forward.

"Ace, just what is this place?" Ace could have sworn Haruta's voice was shaking. "Should we even be here?"

"We can't go back now!" They had taken too much time, and he didn't want to imagine what Marco and Pops would say if they came back without anything after leaving with only a note.

"Guys, look!"

Ace hadn't even realized that the small passageway had opened up into a larger cavern. Their torch was suddenly useless, as there were fires burning along the walls, lighting up the room.

But that's not what Ace was interested in.

The stone pedestal in the center of it all just seemed to pull him in. Before he knew it, he had dropped the torch on the ground, extinguishing it as he began to walk forward.

"Wait! Ace!"

Their words never reached Ace though. He could see the glowing crystal sitting on the pedestal, calling to him. It was as if it was meant for him. He could practically feel its power surging into his veins, and his fingers were almost brushing the top…

"Stop!"

It was too late now. Heat pumped through his veins, yet the crystal suddenly shattered in his grip. "Wha-?"

The room went black, and Ace's world with it.

* * *

"He's waking up!"

Ace's body felt stiff, yet strangely warm. He hadn't remembered falling asleep. What happened? Where was he?

"Ace? Stay with me."

"With  _us_ you mean."

"Quiet, you two."

Ace recognized that voice, and his heart sunk. Of course Marco would be the one sitting by his bedside right now. Gods, he was  _so_  in trouble. He held his breath, keeping his eyes shut for a few moments longer, but he knew that Marco wasn't buying it. He finally sighed, dropping his sleeping facade. Sure enough, Marco was there above him. "Um, hey there."

"What were you thinking?" Marco practically growled. "Don't you know how dangerous leaving is? And just a note?"

"Marco, calm down. It's not-"

"Thatch, Haruta," Marco said. "Please leave."

Ace wanted to plead to them to stay, but they all knew Marco had more authority here than any of them. And so, Ace was left alone to face Marco's wrath. "Marco, I…" Ace trailed off, looking away. He didn't know how to explain it him in a way that would make him less angry.

When he had finally mustered up the courage to look back, he noticed that  _something_  was off. "Ace…" Marco's voice was quiet. "Don't you know how much you worried me, yoi?" he asked. "Gods and you scared me even more when Thatch and Haruta came back with you. I thought you had died!"

"I would never leave you like that, Marco!" Ace sat up, ignoring the pain shooting through his body. He reached out for Marco's hand, not noticing how heat rushed to his fingertips until it was too late. "Gah!"

As soon as his hand touched Marco's, bright flames flared around his fingertips. Ace gasped, pulling his hand away quickly. "Marco! I'm so sorry! I- I don't know-"

"It's fine, Ace," Marco said as his own fire licked at his fingers to chase any trace of harm away. "You can't control it yet."

"W-wait! Marco, what's going on?" Ace asked, waving his arms in an attempt to extinguish the flames. "I don't understand what's happening!"

"Whatever you found gave you magic, Ace," Marco explained. Ace didn't quite believe him at first, but he really had to, right. "Fire."

Ace was quiet. Of course he had assumed that the crystal was magic, but to give him magic of his own? "I… how?"

"We can't take it away, yoi. I'm sorry, but you'll have to adjust."

"What are you saying sorry for?" Ace cocked his head. "This is amazing!" He finally felt awake, and it was as if the soreness had vanished as he practically leaped out of his bed to hug Marco. "I have fire! Kinda like you, huh? Maybe you can help me control it!"

Marco started to laugh, and Ace was glad that his sullen mood had turned around. "Slow down, slow down!"

Ace pulled back a bit to beam at Marco. "How about it, Marco?"

Marco's smile back was a wonderful smile, one that warmed Ace up inside even more. "I'm sure we could work something out."

Someone wolf-whistled. Thatch and Haruta had come back into the room.

Ace blushed, realizing that he was sitting in his lap. He quickly moved back to his bed, draping the covers over his legs again. Marco, whose own face was bright red, stood up. "We'll work out the details later, yoi. I'm going to tell Pops that you're awake."

Thatch and Haruta grinned at Ace slyly even when Marco was long gone. "Stop smiling at me like that. It was nothing."

"Sure, Ace," Haruta said, but he didn't listen to Ace.

"Congratulations on the whole magic thing, buddy!" Thatch chimed, taking the seat Marco had previously occupied. "Granted, it was a pain in the butt lugging your ass back home with your fire, but you're safe and sound."

Ace hadn't had the chance to see it before, but now that he could get a good look at Thatch and Haruta, he saw that their arms were covered in bandages; bandages that they did not have before this whole ordeal. Ace bit his lip, staring at the bandages covering his brother's arms. Those burns underneath had been his fault, and there was no forgiving that.

Haruta suddenly poked Ace right between his eyes, pushing Ace out of his thoughts. "Ow! What's the big idea?"

"Stop blaming yourself!" Thatch said.

"Yeah!" Haruta agreed. "There was no way we could leave you behind."

"You're worth so much more than some stupid burns."

"Yeah! It wouldn't be the same without you!"

Ace had a special connection with all of his brothers of course, but he was especially close to Haruta and Thatch. That's why he could play pranks with them, and that's why he asked them to come along with him. He definitely wasn't regretting his decision now, even if they teased him on...  _certain_  matters.

"Besides, think of all the cool pranks we could pull once you get that power under control."

At those words, Ace couldn't help but grin slyly as well. "Now you're speaking my language."

Needless to say, a certain roommate was  _not_  happy to find charred fabrics later that evening.


	5. Eighteen Years

"Congratulations, Commander!" the crowd around him chorused, and Ace couldn't help smiling. This was  _his_  moment, and it felt like nothing could bring him down right now.

It had taken him longer than he would have liked, but he was finally a Commander.

The hold back was mostly due to his fire magic (he probably would have been promoted a year ago if it weren't for that). There was little time to train for his trial when Marco insisted on mastering his magic first. Though Ace loved spending time with him, Marco was a relentless teacher, working Ace to the bone every chance that he got (Marco had his own duties to take care of)- and that was on top of Ace's regular training as well. But Ace was not a quitter, and all his hard work was definitely worth it.

Those doubts he had years ago seemed as if they never existed.

A pat on the back caused him to turn around to see one of his fellow commanders. Vista beamed at him "So how does it feel, Commander Ace?"

"It feels amazing!" Ace grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."

"And it'll be nice to finally have someone in charge of second division."

"Well, someone has to pick up the slack

The two of them shared a laugh for a moment, when they were suddenly interrupted. "Hm, I don't think you're one to talk about slacking off."

"I work hard!" Ace protested, puffing his cheeks up at Marco's words. Marco's smirk made things even more frustrating for Ace.

"I'm just teasing, yoi," he chuckled. Marco held out his hand. "Dance with me?"

Ace was about to refuse to continue talking to Vista, but he turned back around to discover that he already left, talking to Thatch a few yards away. "Er- Are you sure you want to dance with me? Wouldn't that be a little weird?" It would be to him at least, especially in front of all these people.

"Privately on the balcony then."

Ace looked at the crowd, biting his lip. This was his party, and he was leaving to dance with Marco? It didn't seem right, yet when he felt Marco take his hand, he just couldn't resist being led away.

The doors on the balcony were open, spilling golden light from inside out into the night along with the upbeat music. Ace's hesitance disappeared as he laughed once Marco spun him outward from his grip and began to step to the beat. Ace joined in with a jump- after all, it wasn't every day that Marco showed such a carefree demeanor.

"You're enjoying the party too then?" Ace asked as Marco spun him around again.

"This may be your party, but I can enjoy myself too."

"Yeah, yeah!"

That was an understatement. Marco had been busy training Ace along with his other duties, so he hardly had time to relax. Even when Ace told Marco that he didn't have to keep training him, Marco insisted on continuing, on making Ace a master in a magic.

The music began to slow, and so did their steps. A slow song had started, and it was quiet enough to hear them both breathe. "You… you better keep your skills up," Marco said. "Or else I'll have to… to come back."

"And what if I want that?"

Ace could have spent an eternity standing there with Marco as they smirked at each other, but a sudden cough brought them both back to reality.

"Marco," Izo said. "Pops wanted to see you."

"O-of course." He turned back to Ace, smiling apologetically. "Later then."

Ace nodded, but found no words as Marco left the balcony, leaving him alone with Izo.

"I think you and I need to talk."

* * *

"You can't keep doing this with Marco."

"Doing what?"

"Oi, Ace. Don't play dumb," Thatch chimed up from his spot. He and Haruta had decided to join in on Izo and Ace's conversation after they saw Izo leading Ace away from the party and back to their shared room. Izo calling him away already felt like an interrogation, but this made it worse.

Haruta nodded in agreement. "It's way to obvious."

Ace sighed, silently wondering how they saw right through him.

"Honey, you're much too easy to read. You two are  _literally_  dancing around each other!" Izo rolled his eyes. "We just want the both of you to be happy, so just admit it."

"Admit you  _like_  him!"

"And how would that help anything?" Ace snapped, scowling deeply. His three brothers flinched.

It's not as if they were wrong though, and it's not that Ace  _didn't_  want to confess. He wasn't afraid of confessing either, but he knew how things would turn out if he told Marco that he had a crush- or maybe even something stronger?- on him. He's been thinking about it ever since he realized what he felt.

_Ace couldn't help but grin as he managed to tackle Marco down onto the ground, pinning him there as flames flared along Ace's arms to call out Marco's own fire. Ace may have been a spectacular fighter, but getting the upper hand on Marco was rare._

" _Looks like I win." Ace stuck his tongue out teasingly. He finally climbed off of Marco, rolling over to lie on his back._

" _Don't let it get it your head, Ace," Marco scolded lightly as he stood up and dusted his pants off._

" _Aw, don't be a spoil sport. C'mon, let's go again."_

" _Actually, Ace, we're done for the day."_

_Ace frowned. They had only been training for an hour at most, and Marco never cut training short before. "Is something wrong?"_

" _I just have something to take care of, yoi," Marco said. "I promise that it won't happen often though."_

 _That ended up being a lie, but Ace was sure that Marco didn't mean it since he always apologized when he left. Now usually, Ace respected Marco's privacy, but his curious just got the better of him this time. He couldn't stop himself from following Marco_ _ **whatever**_   _this thing was!_

 _The gardens was where Marco stopped, which wasn't much of a surprise to Ace. Marco loved the gardens, and if he wasn't in his room or the library, one would find him here. However, the thing that_ _ **was**_   _surprising was the fact that Marco wasn't alone- and Ace_ _ **didn't**_ _like it._

" _It's nice to meet you, Your Highness."_

" _To you as well. Shall we?" Marco offered his arm out to the woman standing there, who was wearing a grand dress with a flowing skirt. She placed her hand gently upon it._

_Ace didn't follow after them. He didn't even want to think about what Marco would say to him if he caught him. And besides…_

_It hurt too much. And it hurt with every suitor after as well._

"That's why I can't do anything about it," Ace sighed. "Look, even if there was a chance for me- and  _that's_ a good joke- Marco's searching for a suitor, and do you think he's going to stop?"

None of them had a response for that one.

"See? I'll get over it eventually, guys."


	6. Present Day - 1

"I could have handled it by myself."

"I know."

"Then why did you come here?" Ace couldn't help glaring at Marco right now. Pops had sent him on this mission- not Marco and certainly not both him  _and_  Marco, who had arrived well after Ace. Ace's powers were perfect for this- after all, what was better for taking down an ice monster than fiery powers that could just melt the bastard into oblivion? With his level of skill, Ace was confident he could handle it- but more importantly, he was confident that he could handle it  _alone_.

"As in  _without_  you," Ace stressed, setting down his fork. Even if the food at this seaside inn was amazing, he was too annoyed to eat right now. Hopefully, he would be able to have more later after he defeated the ice monster and the fish returned. "I can handle myself, Marco."

"I believe you, Ace, but found out something we thought you should know right after you left," Marco said.

"And what is that?"

Before Marco could answer him, something crashed straight through the ceiling above them and the air around them became cold. Thankfully, the  _gigantic, icy fist_ had missed both of them by a hair, but it took up half the room at the least.

"It seems our mere ice monster has become an Ice Titan," Marco answered dryly.

"No shit."

Ace shifted into gear immediately, throwing off the traveling cloak he had been wearing in favor of igniting his entire body on fire. He punched the icy fist with force, the titan groaning in response. "Bring it on, frosty!"

The creature had already damaged other buildings besides the poor inn, leaving footprints that froze the ground wherever it walked. Terrified townspeople fled as they shivered violently from the temperature drop, but the only place to run was the boats, and the water was starting to freeze over as well. Ace would need to act quickly.

"Remember that-"

Ace cut Marco off. "The core is in the head. I've got this, Marco!" After all, he had read the book of monsters a thousand time since it was hard not to be fascinated with the idea of battling such monsters. He needed to strike the core, a difficult task considering how tall the thing was (and including the fact that the town's clock tower had already suffered damage)- however, difficult did not mean impossible.

"I just need to knock this thing down then! Hey, ugly!" The Ice Titan turned its head slowly towards the noise.

"Wait, Ace!"

Ace rushed forward, dodging a barrage of icicles that had been blasted his way. Right, left, right- "Oof!" A break in the pattern knocked him back, but he would not let that hinder him. He got back up, the ice on his body melting away easily. Normally he would set a wall of flames, but he couldn't risk causing any more damage to the town.

Marco tugged on his collar, pulling him out of the way of the Ice Titan's sweeping fist into an alleyway. "I won't step in unless you ask, but do try to be careful, yoi," Marco reminded.

"Well, now that you mention it…" The gears were turning in Ace's mind. He didn't want to ask Marco for help, but if he was offering to be a  _resource_ , that was a different story. The plan was potentially risky, but if it played out like he wanted, then it would solve the problem quick. "Let me get on your back."

Marco raised an eyebrow at him, but suddenly Ace found himself atop Marco, who had transformed without Ace even asking him to. It's as if their minds were synchronized then as their flames flickered together. That feeling always made Ace smile even in the heat of battle, made him feel like he could do anything. Marco soared high into the air, dodging the Ice Titan's attacks until they were far above it, and just when Marco was about to dive back down, Ace released his grip, letting himself fall.

As he gathered speed, he let his fire grow around him. "Take this!"

Ace crashed into the Ice Titan's head, their foe roaring in pain. It melted smaller and smaller from the intensity of Ace's fire until there was nothing left of it but a rather pathetic puddle and a vanishing chill.

With the chaos gone, the street was quiet save Ace heavy breathing, but slowly, people began to emerge from their hiding places in the buildings or at the docks, staring at Ace.

"Er-" Ace laughed nervously, unsure of what to say. "Problem solved?"

Ace's words elicited many laughs- and cheers of course- from the grateful townspeople.

* * *

There was a party that night for Ace as a thank you gesture. He definitely enjoyed himself, especially because of the abundance of drink and food (finally he was getting to eat that seafood feast that he had been drooling over). Though the night had been busy with greeting villagers and partying with them, somehow, he and Marco had found some alone time.

Marco smiled at him, patting his shoulder. "Great job as usual, yoi."

"Did you ever have any doubt?" Ace couldn't help grinning back. "Thanks for the help by the way- not that I needed it."

"Well, you really didn't need my help. That was your plan after all."

Forget the fact that Ace wouldn't have been able to fly up without Marco there. He was really too humble- something that Ace couldn't help loving about him.

Yeah.  _Loving._

Ace had been convinced that he would get over his feelings. He had pushed himself into his commander work to try to get some time away, and even this mission was a part of that, yet none of it worked. Each time Marco spent with a new suitor, every time he and Ace laughed together, his heart just grew fonder. It was too hard for him to act mad at Marco for following him too.

"I'll be heading back to the capital tomorrow morning if you want to come with me, yoi," Marco offered. The offer was tempting, especially with the thought of getting to fly with Marco. He wondered if he had taken any of his suitors flying with him.

"I'll take my time," Ace said. "I know you helped set up stuff with reconstruction here, but I might as well make sure things start off well, right?" That excuse sounded good in his head at least.

It was hard not to ignore how Marco's hand brushed over his own. Even though Ace was naturally heated, Marco's hand made him feel a different type of warmth. "Stay careful, yoi." His voice was practically a whisper. He squeezed gently. "I worry about you."

Marco was so close. Ace couldn't help but lean closer to him. "Marco…"

Nothing more happened beyond that. Neither of them would let things happen, no matter how they felt.

* * *

Ace still saw Marco off the next morning.

"Come home soon," Marco told him, hand gently brushing over the hibiscus in Ace's hat. It was something he did often- even did it before Ace left on his mission.

"Don't worry, Marco," Ace said, though he knew he needed some time. It was hard not to choke over his next few words. "You have a suitor to meet, right?"

Marco didn't answer. "You be safe too," Ace added, taking Marco's hand like he had done yesterday. Maybe he was hallucinating, but their hands lingered against each other's before Marco transformed. As he flew away, Ace watched him until he disappeared completely. He hated seeing Marco leave as much as Marco hated seeing him leave, but he knew he needed this time to himself.

The first day, he actually did what he promised he would do. The town had sustained major damage in some areas- mostly inland as well as the clocktower. The town carpenters already started their work, but for some of the more damaged buildings, they would need more help. He and Marco already arranged to send over some of the Capital's best hands.

The next day, he headed down to the docks. After he defeated the Ice Titan, the weather began to warm up quickly, and with it, came the return of the fish. It had been a major reason that Ace had been sent here. Port Donec was one of the kingdom's top seafood suppliers, even with the Capital bordering water as well. Namur would probably want to come here soon to check things out for himself, being a fishman and all.

That was also the day his snail phone rang. He almost forgot that he had brought it along with him. "Hi, Pops," he greeted, unable to help his own smile when he heard his father's infectious chuckle.

" _How did your mission go, son?"_

Ace didn't doubt that Marco had already told him, but he had no problem recounting their exciting yet short-lived battle to Pops, who laughed once again when Ace described narrowly dodging its ginormous, icy fist during a blissful meal (exaggerated, but anything to entertain their father).

" _I knew I was sending the right man for the job! You made me proud, son."_

"Thanks, Pops, but Marco helped."

" _Was it Marco who defeated that monster?"_

Ace frowned. "Er- no, but-"

" _Then give yourself more credit, Ace. You are strong and I don't doubt that you could have done it on your own."_

He decided not to protest. Whitebeard was a stubborn man, but in a good way. He knew when to make compromises for the right cause and he knew when things absolutely needed to be certain, and this was one of the latter incidents. Must have been all those years of ruling as king.

" _Just think about it at least, son. Get some rest and return home soon."_

"I will, Pops."

Before Pops answered, Ace could hear some mumbled words. He leaned closer in an attempt to hear, but he felt they were obviously not meant for him. "Who is that?" he asked.

" _Marco,"_  Whitebeard answered. " _He wants to speak with you."_

" _Go get some rest, Marco!"_  Ace heard Izo yell on the other end. " _Out! You saw him two days ago!"_

" _Sorry, son. I know you two won't stop if I let you speak now."_

" _Budding lovers, those two are,"_  Izo chimed, presumably having succeeded in kicking Marco out.

" _You're right on that."_

"Pops!" Ace gasped. His cheeks felt warmer than usual- and he was made of  _fire_.

" _See? I'm not the only one who thinks you two are being obvious."_

" _Stay out of this, Izo."_  He wished his brother could see his glare right now, though it was quickly replaced by his blush once more once their father laughed again.

" _I think you would be great together if you were honest with each other,"_ Whitebeard said.

But Ace just sighed in response. "You know how he is though." It didn't matter if what Pops and Izo was saying was the truth. Marco would carry out his duties as a prince. "What I feel doesn't matter, right?"

" _Ace…"_

"Goodnight, Pops. Goodnight, Izo."

He hung up, not bothering to think about the situation before collapsing into bed and falling asleep.

* * *

"Sir!" A messenger frantically knocked on his door. As someone who loved sleep, Ace was not pleased.

"What is it?" he grumbled after opening the door.

The man outside panted, out of breath. "An-an unidentified ship… docked overnight. We thought we should… i-inform you."

Now Ace knew that, as a prince, he should be able to take care of this potential threat, but diplomacy wasn't exactly his strong suit. Looks like he would have to solve this problem the only way he knew how: by kicking someone's butt.

Of course, he didn't know what these strangers looked like, but if he waited by their strange boat, they would come back eventually.

And strange it was.

It was just a simple sailboat- possibly only a small cabin within- which wouldn't have been strange if the flag of the kingdom of Raftel wasn't flying upon it.

Though he didn't pay very much attention during Marco's lessons, but he  _did_  remember some of the surrounding nations. Traveling seemed exciting, so he had taken note. Raftel wasn't exactly close, so why was such a small boat from there in their kingdom? He set a foot onto the deck cautiously, but there was no one there.

He leaned against the mast, making himself comfortable. The boat was pretty much abandoned for the time being, so no one stopped him. He would just wait here then- not that that was wasting much time. This was just giving him something to do, and in extension, something that would help him avoid going home, especially after the snail call the previous night.

If he had to stop a hundred more ships to clear his mind, then so be it.

* * *

Ace didn't remember falling asleep. Sure, it happened often enough at home, but he was on a foreign boat and he had let his guard down. To make such a show of laziness and lackluster instinct was a shame to his position! Even if there weren't enemies around, it was still a big deal- and unfortunately, he was surrounded.

"Hey! He's waking up!"

Ace groaned cursing the fact that they had noticed. It didn't help that he still felt sluggish, vision still blurry.

"Really?" Footsteps began to thunder across the deck. He needed to move now! Surely they were about to strike!

' _Move, damn it!'_ He was helpless, unable to even defend or brace himself.

"ACE!"

Ace was expecting an attack. Who wouldn't take such a golden opportunity to strike a defenseless prince down? End his life whilst in slumber and be done with it?

Instead, he had been tackled, bowled over from his previous position of resting against the mast. Whoever was hugging him was also sobbing messy tears into Ace's chest. He couldn't really tell much about the person beyond that since his vision was obscured by a straw hat.

"You can't just do that, Luffy," the boy's- Luffy's- companion sighed. "I know you're excited to see him, but we'll capsize if you rock the boat too much."

Luffy didn't seem to be listening to him, only hugging Ace tighter.

Ace was speechless, trying to process everything that had happened in the past few moments. How did these people know his name? And what was that about capsizing?

He shoved Luffy off of him, sitting up to look at his surroundings. Notably, there was nothing of note considering there was only water on all sides.

"We're on the ocean," he mumbled.  _No way._ "What the hell!"

"You think after eight years you could at least  _act_  happy to see us?" the other man asked. "Look, I know it's taken us a long time, but give us a break."

Ace finally was finally able to get a look at the two. The younger of the two was still sniffling, wiping tears away across a small scar under his eye. The older man was dressed like some fancy-pants noble complete with a top hat, though his own scar seemed out of place. "Welcome back," he said, words not helping Ace's confusion.

Ace didn't know what the hell that was supposed to mean. He was pretty sure he had never seen either of these people in his life.

So he said the first thing that came to his mind, which happened to be, "You kidnapped me!"

The man frowned, adjusting his hat atop blond locks. The color reminded Ace of Marco. If only he were here to help Ace out of this one. "Kidnapped? Why would we do that? I thought you got on the ship because you knew. Unless…"

"Knew what?"

"Sabo, what's wrong with Ace?"

"Nothing is wrong with me, idiot. I'm pretty sure it's you guys."

"That's arguable," Sabo said. He sat on deck, facing Ace. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a slip of paper to hand to Ace. "Do you know what this is?"

Ace whacked it out of Sabo's hands. "I don't really care about what you have to show me! Take me back!"

"Hey!"

Luffy grabbed it out of the air before it could blow away in the sea breeze. Sabo let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Lu." This time, Sabo shoved it into Ace's hands before he could protest, and upon catching a glimpse of it, he couldn't help examining it further.

It was him.

A photograph of him of course, but he was much younger- probably around the same age he had been when Marco and Pops found him. What was even stranger about the photo was that sitting next to him were Luffy and Sabo as they all grinned wide.

Ace didn't remember this at all. It must have been a fabrication, a trap- yet this photograph seemed too real. "Wh… What is this?"

"We took it before your birthday," Sabo explained. "I never thought I would have to use it for something like this."

"Ace! Do you remember us now?" Luffy practically whined.

"Luffy! You can't just ask that!"

Neither Luffy's begging nor the photograph had brought his memories back- unsurprisingly. Nothing had worked before, yet he knew this wasn't a lie. It was too real, but he didn't know what to do. These guys who were supposedly his  _brothers_? What was he supposed to say?

His feet were moving before he knew it, and he found himself shut into the room aboard the small ship. Ace closed his eyes, sinking back onto the ground. He hadn't felt this blank in a long time, so empty. His years with the Whitebeard had filled his life quite literally. Before them, he had nothing. He owed so much of his life to them. He felt like he would be betraying them

Yet he had waited for this day. He imagined it differently- after all, how could he have thought up his reunion by being kidnapped? Ace had fashioned in his mind that he was an only child, and that his parents were distraught after losing their son. They would show up at the castle one day, claiming that they had left behind everything they had to search for him. Ace would run into their arms, and Whitebeard would grant them a small house in the capital so Ace didn't have to leave his brothers behind, and they would all live happy ever after.

Ace couldn't have been more wrong. This was far from the fantasy that had danced in his mind. He was helpless in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by his new brothers- one that didn't even look like him and the other who wasn't quite right in the head, mind you.

The door opened slowly, interrupting his thoughts. Ace barely glanced up.

"Are you alright?" Sabo asked, kneeling down.

Ace didn't answer for a moment, trying to process the words. "It's a lot to take in."

He felt Sabo's hand on his shoulder. The slight warmth from the touch was comforting. "Look, Ace." He did. Sabo was frowning, looking down at the ground as Ace had been doing previously. "We can bring you home."

Ace's eyes widened. "You're going to give me up so easily?"

"If you really feel like we kidnapped you, then that's no good," Sabo said. "Neither of us want to, but I know it's the right choice. If you want us to bring you home, just tell us where to go."

Sabo said that, but Ace wasn't exactly sure of what he wanted. He was curious about Sabo and Luffy, and what their home was like back in the kingdom of Raftel. If he returned and let everyone else know, they probably wouldn't let him go and he would he miss this opportunity forever. Sure, he loved Pops and all his family back home, but it's not as if he would abandon them.

Ace hoped that Marco would forgive him for this- he was a worrier after all- but maybe this is what he needed.

"Wait," Ace said. Sabo looked up at him in surprise. "I'll go with you."

* * *

The meeting had failed again, unsurprisingly. Years of searching for suitors and he had not even come close to a single success.

"What did you expect?" Thatch asked as he stirred a stock pot of soup.

"Something has to work out eventually, yoi," Marco sighed.

He almost missed how Thatch rolled his eyes at him. "Sure. Taste this?"

"Needs a bit more salt."

"Thanks."

They sat in silence for a bit more as Marco mulled over his thoughts, but Thatch wasn't one to keep his mouth shut for long. "Have you thought about just…  _not?"_

"Not what?" Marco raised an eyebrow. He wished Thatch wasn't being so vague.

"You know, just giving up on finding a queen? It's obviously not working out very well."

"Are you really saying that? I don't exactly have that luxury," he argued.

Thatch remained unfazed. "Sure you do," he replied with a mere shrug of the shoulders.

Marco didn't know why Thatch said such things. He just really didn't understand him.

It was Marco's duty to marry and produce an heir- he was to become king after all. The kingdom needed someone who was responsible, and he had already resolved himself to his fate. If he was determined, if he kept trying, then things would work out. That was how he truly felt.

Or at least that's what he was trying to tell himself.

Starting off, he thought there was something wrong with his suitors, his potential brides. She only wanted him for his money, they were too bratty, they were too shallow, they didn't like his brothers, they were in love with someone else… The list went on and on. He was hoping that things would click one day, and none of those issues would exist.

"Are you going to stop moping?"

"I am not moping," Marco denied with a huff. It was unbecoming for a prince to mope.

"Well, whatever it is, can you take it out of the kitchen? And you call me a drama queen." Thatch had muttered the last part under his breath, but Marco still heard it.

"What was that?"

Marco almost laughed at how Thatch's hands immediately moved to protect his "magnificent hair" (as Thatch would call it). "Nothing!"

"Is he threatening your hair again, dear?" Izo asked as he strut into the kitchen. He kissed Thatch on the cheek, lowering his hands.

Now it was Marco's turn to roll his eyes. "Can you tell him that I'm not moping?"

"Well, I don't have to correct him if it's true."

"Izo!" Marco glared at both of them, who were sporting matching smirks. "Stop that."

"Really though, Marco," Izo said. He let go of Thatch, walking over to Marco to pat him on the shoulder. "You'll feel better when Ace gets home though."

A heat crept onto Marco's face at those words, but he couldn't find the heart to deny it. Sometimes it seemed as if Ace was the only thing keeping him going. He hoped that Ace would return soon.

* * *

But "soon" turned into a week- then a week and a  _half_ \- and Ace hadn't come back home yet.

Marco had been waiting for the day that Ace would come back. He would burst through the library doors with a huge sunshine smile on his face as Marco looked up from a heavy book. Ace would tackle him to the floor in a hug before Marco could respond, and the two of them would sit on the library floor for hours as they talked about their weeks. Ace would fall asleep before dinner, so Marco would have to carry him to his room- he would bring Ace a hot meal on a tray (or a cart) later of course, he would never think of allowing Ace to skip a meal.

None of that happened. Marco waited in the library, trained in the magic hall- anything to take his mind off of it, but nothing worked, and he grew ever more aggravated at Ace's absence. What was keeping him so long? Marco's mind was swirling with anxieties, worst-case scenarios. What if Ace was attacked on his journey back? What if the people were making him stay, unsatisfied with how they even allowed the attack to happen? It didn't help that Ace hadn't contacted him at all.

"You can't just leave, Marco," Izo sighed.

"I know he can," Marco argued. Ace wasn't a baby, of course. "But what if something happened to him?"

"I'm sure we would have heard something if that was the case. Pops, please tell him that he doesn't have to go."

"Izo is right, my son." Whitebeard frowned at him in concern. "Though I am worried as well, I believe that he will return home safely." His gentle hand pressed down on Marco's shoulder, reminding himself to take a deep, calming breath.

"You guys are right," he said. "I just can't help but be worried."

"I know, my son, but I know you have the patience to wait."

"Ace is probably fine," Izo added.

The sound of panting and running interrupted their conversation, and the three of them looked up to see a messenger. Whatever he was here for, it was clear it was nothing good judging from how quickly he rushed in.

"What is wrong, son?" Whitebeard asked.

It took him a moment to answer, still out-of-breath, but eventually, he thrust out a piece of paper that had been crumpled in his grip.

"I-it's Ace," the messenger said, and Marco swore that he felt his stomach drop out when he heard: "He's been kidnapped."


	7. Present Day - 2

There was absolutely no privacy on the boat. Of course, Ace should have figured that, but the fact didn't strike him until a few days into their journey.

"Ace! I wanna hear about your adventures!"

"Didn't I tell you some yesterday?" Ace sighed. He knew there was little he could do to stop Luffy's need for attention- besides  _give_  him attention- but it would have been nice to have some peace and quiet for once, Such moments had been rare back with Marco and the others, and he thought that this trip would give him time to think.

Wrong.

"He can't help it," Sabo said. He was sitting on the railing above, grinning. "Lu wants to spend time with his big brother, after all."

"I'll never get used to that." He'd always remembered being the youngest, even if he and Haruta were close in age.

"You will- once you remember."

Ace couldn't find the words to answer that.

"How about we trade?" Sabo asked, hopping down from his perch.

"You mean you take Luffy for the day?"

"Nice try, but you're not getting out of that one."

"I want to talk to Ace," Luffy interrupted stubbornly.

Sabo pat him on the shoulder. "You'll like this idea, Lu. Trust me," he said, taking a seat on the deck next to them. "Why don't we tell you about  _our_ adventures for once?"

Luffy's eyes lit up. "There was that time with the tiger, and then with the crocodile that ate me-"

"Let's not give him a heart attack just yet, Lu."

Ace stared. A heart attack?! Just what have these two gotten up to?

"Don't look at me like that. This includes you too."

"What?!" Ace's jaw dropped.

Sabo grinned at him, barely containing a laugh. "Oh. this is going to be fun."

* * *

"What do you mean he's been kidnapped?"

Pops was the one who spoke, voicing a reflection of Marco's own thoughts, yet Marco himself was frozen in that moment.

"One of the dock workers said that he asked Commander Ace to investigate a suspicious boat and he never returned to the inn," the messenger said.

"Damn it! I knew I should have stayed with him."

"Marco, you couldn't have known that this would happen."

"But if I was there, I could have gone after him already!" he snapped. He'd been by Ace's side for so much of his life that it was impossible not to worry, especially now. If something happened to him- well something  _worse_  than already being  _kidnapped_ \- then Marco didn't know if he could forgive himself. "Who knows where they are by now?"

Whitebeard frowned. "Marco, calm yourself. Nothing will come of irrationality, and I hate to see you so unlike yourself. For the time being, listen and take a seat."

Marco nodded, sinking down to sit on the stone steps. His rushing blood began to calm. It finally hit him how exhausting this news was, though unsurprisingly, that failed to quell his worry. "Did the dock worker say where the ship was from?"

"No, but the townspeople might know something. It's likely that they were buying supplies."

It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now. "Pops, I'm going."

"I don't think so!" Izo huffed. "Marco, take a look at yourself right now. You need to just calm down and rest! Don't be such a-"

"Izo." Whitebeard's stern voice silenced Izo's protests. "Your brother is right, Marco. You are in no condition to travel at the moment."

"Pops-"

"However," he continued speaking, cutting through the beginning of Marco's protest, "I will allow you to leave provided you rest and prepare."

Marco sighed in relief. Going after Ace would be the only way to ease his thoughts. "Thank you, Pops. I'll make sure that Ace returns home safely- no matter what."

He woke up the next day feeling like he had done so for a million years. He'd admit it: Izo really was right in that he needed some sleep, but there was so much more he needed to do than just sleep. He needed to pack supplies, to depart, to  _find Ace_. His body- as well as his heart- weighed heavy. He knew he should have waited for his family to see him off, but he just couldn't wait.

Marco left with the rising sun.

* * *

Ace stared at Sabo-  _his brother_ \- incredulously. "Eaten by a  _what?!_ "

Instead, Luffy was the one who chimed in, grinning his stupid grin. "Yep!"

"How are you guys still alive?"

"We," Sabo corrected, "and mostly because we were able to jump in and save his ass."

Ace could believe that. Luffy definitely wasn't the brightest, and if Ace had been anything like he was now, then he would have been willing to do anything to save one of his brothers.

He missed them.

Traveling had given him a lot to think about, mostly about his family. Though there was family right in front of him- supposedly- his thoughts wandered back to those in Moby. He didn't exactly say goodbye nor did he send a message. He could imagine everyone's reactions perfectly: Thatch and Haruta running around like headless chickens, Izo trying to remain calm while being agitated himself, Pops's worried frown…

Oh gods. Marco was going to be furious with him. He was a constant worrier, which subjected him to many jokes about his feathers getting ruffled (though Ace always found joy in Marco actually ruffling his feathers in his phoenix form). Marco was expecting him to return to the castle soon, but Ace had never actually promised him that.

And despite how much he missed him, there was no turning back now.

"I see land!"

Luffy leaped up, almost falling off the boat in the process.

"Careful, Lu. It'd be pain to have to dive in after you when we're so close to home." Sabo smiled, standing as well as he shielded his eyes from the bright sun overhead. Ace followed suit. Indeed, there was Raftel. Even from here he could see the bustling capital city rising from the surrounding greenery. Of course, he hadn't remembered it, but he had read about it and seen illustrations.

Sabo turned back to him, still grinning wide. "Welcome home. Welcome to Raftel, Ace."


	8. Present Day - 3

The tavern was rather quiet when Marco entered, though that might have had something to do with the scowl upon his face. He could only imagine how they felt upon seeing the  _crown_   _prince_  enter with such displeasure.

The owner- Marco assumed- bowed to him. "Your Highness."

Marco took a deep breath, wiping the scowl from his face as he sat in a bar stool. These people didn't deserve his anger. "Please, just Marco is fine. Have you heard any news of Commander Ace?" It was strange to refer to him in such a formal way.

The owner shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it's been a week and I've heard nothing personally. I wish that the news could have been sent sooner."

"You did what you could."

"Still, it's hard to believe that the Commander could have been kidnapped, especially after saving the town from that monster."

Marco couldn't believe it either. He knew Ace was strong. They trained together whenever they could after all. Just who had kidnapped Ace if they could take him down so easily? Then again, Marco knew that there had to be more to this story, other possibilities.

That included the possibility of Ace going with his captors willingly.

Marco dismissed that thought immediately with a shake of his head. Ace would never abandon him- abandon his  _family_ \- like that.

"Do you know of anyone that I could ask?"

"I know one of the dockworkers saw him the day he disappeared. You should try him. Just ask for Rowlan at the northernmost docks."

"Got it. I'll head to the docks then," Marco said, pushing away from the counter.

"Would you like to rest first?" the owner asked. "I imagine that the journey here must have been exhausting."

With Marco current state of mind, it definitely had been, but if he slept now, he would waste the useful daylight still burning high in the sky. "I'm fine for now, but thank you for the offer."

The dockworkers addressed him as formally as the tavern owner had, the man Rowlan especially. He didn't quite meet Marco's eyes when Marco asked for him, though it wasn't that hard to figure out why. He had been the last one to see Ace after all, which did, in fact, make him look rather suspicious.

It was almost impossible not to think about that, and Marco couldn't find the same peace of mind that he had had with the tavern owner.

Marco crossed his arms. "So how did it happen?"

"I… I saw a suspicious boat docked that day," he said. "The commander was expected to come down later anyways to help with reconstruction, so I thought I would ask him to come down early. When I returned to the docks later, the boat was gone."

Marco frowned. The information wasn't extremely useful in its base form, but he knew now that the captors weren't actively pursuing Ace. So what? He was caught on the ship and kidnapped? They must have been well equipped if they were able to contain Ace.

"I remember that their sails displayed the royal insignia of Raftel though. It's been a long time since any of their ships have been here, but it's part of my job to recognize where ships come from."

Marco's eyes widened. "Raftel?" Out of all things he had said, that had definitely been the most useful, but what would an undeclared Raftelian ship be doing on Moby soil?

Marco sighed, thanking Rowlan briefly before heading back the way he came. He was going to need that inn room now. There was an even longer journey ahead of him.

* * *

Ace raised an eyebrow. "So this is Raftel?"

"Geez. No need to sound so impressed." Sabo rolled his eyes. "Not every place is a grand city, you know."

They had docked at a sleepy-looking town with only a few buildings. A dirt road ran through the middle, continuing on through the surrounding pastures. It was small, but admittedly, the ambient quiet brought calm to his very soul. He stared into the distance, wondering what was beyond as he adjusted to being on land again.

"Remember anything yet?"

Ace didn't need to think about his answer. "No."

Luffy groaned, but Sabo scolded him immediately after. "Be patient." He handed both of them a pack (it was surprising that they still had provisions after the journey considering all their appetites, but Ace supposed that Sabo knew how to compensate). "Just another day."

They traveled along the road for a while as Luffy blabbed excitedly about the capital city: foods that Ace needed to try, things Ace needed to do, places Ace needed to go.

"The castle is  _really_ cool too! Like-"

"Give it a rest, Lu," Sabo said, only to be met with a whine. "He'll see soon enough."

Ace frowned. The castle? They weren't going to sneak in, were they? Because he was sure that one of Moby's princes sneaking into Raftel's castle would  _not_  be good for relations.

If only he knew how wrong he was at the time. In hindsight, he should have thought about it more at the time.

Upon entry to the town, they came across a bustling marketplace. Strangely, Ace found himself washed with familiarity, despite the contrast from Moby. Here, stalls held necessities like different meats and vegetables. It's not like there wasn't a market back home. In fact, some of Ace's best memories were visiting Moby's weekend market with Marco and the others.

_Ace grinned, holding up an obnoxiously teal hat. "What do you think? It's kinda like mine, right?"_

_Marco raised an eyebrow at him before gently taking the hat out of his hands and setting it back onto the seller's table. "I think you're the only one that can pull of that..._ _**unique** _ _look of yours, Ace."_

" _What's that supposed to mean? We'd look cool in matching hats, you know."_

" _If you say so." Though Marco turned away, Ace was sure that he saw a smile. "Let's keep going. We're here for you, not for me."_

_Typically, trips to the weekend market were more of a family outing, but Marco insisted that the two of them go together this time. Ace wasn't sure why, but he didn't protest. Seeing all the different handmade goods out for sale was always fun, especially since there were more stalls for the new year. His stomach grumbled quietly, protesting for a stop at a food stall._

" _How about these?" Marco asked. He held up a necklace of red beads._

_Ace tapped the brim of his hat. "I already have some like those."_

" _So they'll match then." Marco draped it over it head before he had a chance to protest. Ace couldn't help blushing with the way Marco smiled at him. "You look good."_

_Ace sputtered, speechless, as Marco turned to the lady to pay. "What's this for?"_

" _Think of it as a gift. It's been a year since we met each other after all."_

Ace hadn't realized that he had reached for his necklace, but the slight weight was reassuring to him. It was a silent promise between him and Marco: the promise that they would be there for each other no matter what.

"Hey, where are we going?"

Ace thought many times about what his home had been like. He'd always assumed that it would be a modest place.

So why were approaching the castle?

His instincts should have been telling him that this was far from an okay situation, but he didn't feel alarmed or worried. Something was pulling him forward, telling him that this was safe.

He felt like he was home.

Neither Sabo nor Luffy answered his question, and they continued on in silence. The knights standing guard seemed unfazed by their entrance as they pushed the door open themselves-

"Monkey D. Luffy! Sabo! Don't think I didn't  _know_  about your impromptu  _foray_  across the high seas!"

A strawberry-blonde woman was standing there to greet them, arms crossed. She wore a simple blue dress that flowed gently towards the burgundy carpet beneath her and a hibiscus in her hair.

It was identical to the one in Ace's hat.

She ran up to Sabo, embracing him. "Do you know how worried I was? What would have happened if you two got hurt?"

"Yeah Ma, but we-"

When Ace's looked at her, her eyes widened, and slowly she pulled away from Sabo. She reached up, fingers brushing Ace's cheeks.

"Th-this…"

"We found Ace!"

Before Ace knew it, the woman had taken him into a hug so tight- like if she let go, he would disappear forever. She was warm- warmer than that simple feeling of familiarity at the market- and Ace leaned into that warmth, hugging her back as her tears stained the collar of his shirt.

"Ace, this is our mother: Portgas D. Rouge and Sovereign Queen of Raftel."


	9. Present Day - 4

"Hey are you feeling alright?" Sabo asked, sitting next to him on his bed.

This was Ace's room apparently, but even for an adult, the room felt too large for him alone.

" _You used to share with your brothers,"_  Rouge- his  _mother_ \- had told him earlier. " _They moved to their own rooms when…"_ She didn't meet his eyes when saying that, so Ace had decided to leave that alone for the moment- not that it took a genius to figure out what she meant.

"It's kinda lonely," he said as he lay back. It was a king size, bigger than his bed back home- well, his bed in Moby anyways. There wasn't room for big beds like this one since they shared rooms. It was too clean here too with the exception of the dust covered surfaces. At home, his and Izo's shared room had always been cluttered, whether it be his own clothes or paperwork that he ended up neglecting or Izo's scattered fabrics from working on a new design.

"Aw, if you're scared, Lu and I can always camp in here with you."

Ace elbowed him. "I'm not scared, you jerk. Stop laughing."

"Sorry." Sabo was still grinning, though he stopped his quiet snickers. "Sure you're okay though?"

How could he say yes to that? "I… I just thought that I was prepared to meet my family."

It was a lot to take in, no matter how long her had thought about it both before and after the journey. Not only did he have a family, one that had been waiting for his return  _all these years_ , but they were  _royalty._

He was still trying to wrap his mind it. What were the odds that he, a lost prince, was found by Whitebeard, a king? And on top of all that there was a matter of his father- the biological one.

 _Ace stared up at the portraits that seemed to tower above him. The one to his left was of Rouge, though dressed much more grandly than she was currently (Ace would not have guessed without Sabo telling him). Her portrait looked quite different with grand jewels upon her ears and neck, head adorned with a sparkling crown instead of a hibiscus. The tell tale sign that it_ _ **was**_   _Rouge though, was the gentle, reassuring smile and the loving look in her brown eyes._

" _Ridiculous, aren't they?" Rouge said, walking up beside him. "I've never been one for all the fancy jewels, but it's a tradition to have portraits of the king and queen. Well, your father had fun with it at least."_

_Ace turned his gaze to the portrait of the king- his father- on his right. The man was grinning wide as if he were laughing. Ace could tell that he didn't have a care in the world even if he was the king._

" _There's a serious version, though he insisted on this one, and well, it's what he would have wanted."_

" _What happened to him?" Ace asked before he could stop himself. They hadn't told him anything yet, though it was clear that the man wasn't around if Rouge was the sovereign._

" _He died the year after you disappeared," Rouge answered, her voice was quiet. "Roger was very sick. Incurable."_

_Roger… The name sounded familiar, though he couldn't quite place it at the moment. "I'm sorry for your loss."_

" _Your loss as well, Ace." She took his hand. "Your father loved you very much."_

_Even if she said that Ace felt nothing, but he didn't voice this fact, squeezing her hand in reassurance instead._

" _I'm sure you have many questions."_

_That was an understatement._

" _Why don't you rest for now though?"_

A knock on the door broke Ace out of his thoughts, though Sabo was the one who stood to go answer it. A green-haired woman entered with a smile. "It's so nice to meet you again, Ace!"

"Ace, this is Makino. She helped take care of us when we were younger," Sabo said.

Ace shook her hand, returning the smile despite his muddled thoughts. "Nice to meet you too. Did you need something?"

"Your mother wanted to know if you two were ready."

Ace's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Ready for what?"

"I think we're ready," Sabo said. "We'll head over now."

"Good. She's starting her speech soon."

"Speech?"

"I told you this earlier, Ace. Mom wanted to announce your return to the people."

"Um…" Ace was at a loss for words. He, in fact,  _did not_ remember Sabo telling him this. It's not like he was the worst listener, but it was hard to focus right now. On top of that, he wasn't read, but Sabo pulled him along anyways.

"It'll be quick. You don't even have to say anything," Sabo reassured. "She probably wants to get it over with anyways. Spend some time with you."

Ace could understand that. She was his mother after all, even though that was weird to think about. They never had an actual "mother figure" in Moby. The closest thing they had were the nurses, and they were more like sisters.

There was a lot to adjust to, and the crowds were included in that too. He had made public appearances in the past a few times (once when Pops took him in and another when he became a commander) but having complete strangers stare at him for seemingly endless moments still made his stomach swim. His own inner confusion didn't help the matter either.

The crowd, which had previously been alive with whispers, fell into a dead silence once he stepped onto the balcony. Suddenly, he felt very alone.

Yet that coldness was swiftly washed away when he felt warm fingers slip into his hand, which had previously been limp at his side. He looked up and Rouge was smiling that warm smile at him. " _Welcome home, my son."_ she whispered, so quiet that it was only a single breath.

She squeezed his hand tight, waiting patiently until Ace nodded. When he did, she raised their joined hands high in the air:

"People of Raftel, our prince has returned home!"

* * *

Marco collapsed on the ground, panting as the palms of his hands were soiled with mud. His pants would be ruined too, but he needed to get somewhere inside.

It started raining during his flight, and his powers didn't mix at all with the water. He could resist rain for a little while, but his flames could flicker out with torrential downpour. He couldn't afford to get sick now like the last time he had been out for too long.

" _You shouldn't have given me your shirt." Ace frowned at him, absentmindedly fiddling with the heavy blankets on Marco's bed._

" _You're still wearing it though," Marco chuckled weakly. He was secretly glad that Ace wasn't as energetic a the moment. He still needed to recover after all, and he wasn't sure if he could take the noise- or Ace moving around too much. "I'll be fine in a few hours, Ace. I'm just cold."_

" _But I don't like seeing you like this."_

" _I promise that it won't last much longer." Marco shut his_ _ **and**_   _tired it seemed. "I'm sorry we couldn't train more."_

_Ace let go of the blankets, choosing to take Marco's hand instead. It was warm. "Don't apologize, idiot. I should have been the one-"_

" _I would never let that happen."_

" _Well, maybe neither of you would be in this situation if you actually wore a shirt like you're supposed to, Ace." It was Whitey Bay, and judging from her tone, she didn't seem happy._

_Marco would have snorted if he wasn't feeling so weak, instead choosing to say, "Like that would ever happen."_

" _Hey!" Ace protested._

" _That's fair, though usually you're not that wreckless, Marco."_

" _I did what was necessary."_

" _Next time, just wait for the rain to end," she said, rolling her eyes. "Make sure he doesn't leave the bed, Ace. I don't care how fast he heals. He needs to rest for a few days."_

" _Roger that!" He grinned at Marco as Whitey Bay left the room. "You heard her! No moving!"_

' _ **But your training,'**_ _he wanted to protest, but Ace cut him off._

" _And no buts! I'll make sure you stay here even if I have to watch you myself!"_

_Marco held in a sigh. Ace was getting way into his newfound role. "Alright then, but no complaining if you get antsy."_

" _I can stay still every once in awhile!"_

_Such things were true, especially when he fell asleep right at Marco's side_

Marco made sure to bring a warm cup of soup back to his inn room. He had learned from that prior incident, and he wasn't going to let a delay happen because of recklessness. If he-  _they_ \- lost Ace because of that, he would never forgive himself.

Many "ifs" were running through his mind besides just that. He wished he had tried harder to take Ace back home earlier. If he had done that, Ace would have been safe. He had told himself that many times before, and even if Pops and Izo had told him not to blame himself, it was impossible.

He was probably just too protective of Ace. He could think of a few reasons why, even though he was sure he would never admit it to anyone.


	10. Present Day - 5

**Snapshots of Adjustment**

"Is something wrong, Ace?" Rouge asked. She reached over, letting go of her utensils, and squeezed his hand.

"I'm fine, M..." The word 'mom' died before it could pass through his lips.

"He's probably just hungry." Sabo pointed at Ace with his spoon before taking another bite of the dish in front of him, loaded with pasta. "The kitchen staff made your favorites. Eat up before Lu gets it all."

Some things never changed even with memory loss it seemed. The buffet of dishes in front of him was almost like something he would see on the table back in Moby, especially on special occasions.

His stomach grumbled, and Rouge giggled as Ace finally cut into his steak with a blush. Luffy reached across the table to steal, but Ace whacked his hand away on instinct.

"Just like old times. You boys are going to be just as rowdy as you were when you were kids, I bet."

"I guess so." Still adjusting, Ace wasn't sure if he was up to acting like a rowdy child yet.

Dinner was quieter than at Moby, but it had its own type of excitement with Luffy's antics, Sabo's snickering, and Rouge's endearing words. He'd get used to it in time, he reassured himself.

* * *

It wasn't hard to get lost in the castle. Ace had absolutely no idea where he was going. The layout (more vertical than horizontal) was completely different from Moby's castle. He'd look out the window one second, and suddenly he was looking out at different side of the city in the next window.

"Excuse me, your highness, but do you need any help?" one of the servants asked.

"Uh- no thank you! I'm fine!"

Needless to say, that was a lie.

"It's funny," a voice said a few moments later after Ace had dashed in the opposite direction.

"Gah!" He turned around to glare at Sabo, who was grinning smugly. "When did you-"

"I know all the secret passages, Ace," he said, shrugging. "You used to."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I'm sure I know them now."

Sabo grabbed his shoulder. "You'll figure it out."

"Wait. What?"

Sabo suddenly shoved him against the nearby statue. It began to turn in place, Ace helpless to stop it, and before he knew it, he was in an almost pitch-black passageway. He lit up his left hand with a scowl, raising it above his head.

"Sabo!"

* * *

He stumbled out of a bookshelf an hour later, glaring at Sabo, who was flipping through a book rather lazily. "Have fun?"

"Thanks, asshat."

"Well you learned your way around the passages at least."

Sabo was right (yet again), but Ace wasn't about to admit that. He was definitely a  _brother_.

* * *

Ace rolled over, groaning as a weight shook his bed.

"Wake up, Ace!" Luffy yelled, continuing to jump.

' _It's your birthday, Ace! Wake up!'_

"Urgh. Stop it, Lu. It's not my birthday."

"What?" Luffy finally stopped, but he decided to poke Ace's forehead instead. "You're weird, Ace. Of course it's not your birthday.

Ace frowned, opening his eyes to look at him. "Why'd you say that then?"

"I didn't." Luffy simply grinned his stupidly wide grin, resuming his jumping soon after. "Wake up! My friends are coming!"

Ace grabbed one of the many pillows next to him and put one over his head to muffle Luffy's yelling. He could only imagine how much louder it was about to get. He could only imagine what they were going to be like.

"You guys are surprisingly sane," Ace admitted, as he stared at his black hole of a brother consume anything and everything on the table for breakfast.

"We know," Nami sighed, pulling her plate out of the way of Luffy's stretchy arm (Ace was still getting used to that). "I think Luffy has enough insanity for all of us."

They were going to get along just fine.

* * *

Ace couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his mother. What kind of queen napped under a tree? He walked over, kneeling next to her. Cautiously, he touched her shoulder, shaking her to wake her. "Your Majesty?"

"Hm?" Rouge shifted, opening her eyes slowly. She smiled immediately. "Oh, Ace. I didn't know you were here. "

"I just got here, Your Majesty."

"Please, none of that. I'm your mother," she said. "Come sit with me."

Ace sat next to her, shoulders tense and his back straight against the tree as he kept his distance from her. Rouge moved, closing the distance between them. Ace glanced at her dress, which had some mulch and dirt stuck to the skirt (easily noticeable because of the light blue color).

"This was your favorite tree in the garden." Rouge stared up at the branches. "It hasn't changed much."

"I mean, it  _is_  a tree. You never know."

"Well, look up there." She pointed, leading Ace's gaze to where her own was. "See that?"

A red strip of cloth fluttered in the wind, yet still tied securely around one of the branches. "You three wanted to surprise me on my birthday, so you three climbed the tree and tied a big banner up there."

" _Happy birthday, Ma!"_

"Luffy slipped out of the tree though and fell to the ground, and you jumped after him before anyone could stop you!"

" _Ace!"_

" _I'm fine! I'm fine!"_

"You broke your leg, and I swear, Luffy didn't want to let you walk for weeks."

"What happened to Luffy though?" Ace asked.

"Oh, he was fine, as always," Rouge said. "Bounced right off the ground!"

An image of Luffy ricocheting around the garden came to mind, though Ace couldn't imagine that ending well, contrary to what Rouge said.

"I scolded you that night though. I worry about you, my little fireball."

" _You're growing up so fast, my little fireball!"_

"I'm not little anymore, Ma."

She pulled him into a hug and quietly whispered, "I know."

They fell asleep together under that favorite tree as Rouge stroked Ace's hair with a feather light touch.


	11. Present Day - 6

**Queen, Commander, Mother**

Ace couldn't help but stare, speechless.

His mother had swapped out her simple dress for a suit of armor, a silver circlet standing out against her strawberry blonde hair. She had been frowning when Ace helped her into the outfit earlier, but she showed no signs of discomfort now as she stood proud and tall, features stoic.

"Captain, while I appreciate your sentiment in trying to strengthen our army, I have repeatedly requested that you focus our resources into training our current soldiers."

"Your Highness, I believe this is what's best. More soldiers means more potential."

"And I believe that that's a pathetic excuse." Ace shivered. He was standing by Rouge's side, but out of the corner of his eye he could see her glower. "I will not have you needlessly sacrifice the men of our country! They could have so much more potential in other jobs, and less men would die with proper training."

The captain sneered. "My knowledge is much more valuable than a woman's when it comes to military."

The background chatter of the other knights halted, and the room was absolutely silent.

Let it be known that this was not the first time that the Sovereign Queen (of  _seven years_ , mind you), Portgas D. Rouge, had been underestimated for being a woman. Let it be known that those who had hurled such insults lost all rank, sent back to their noble families with their tails between their legs.

"I miss Rayleigh," Rouge muttered. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Ace."

"It's fine." Ace continued to glare at the path the man had left on. "He shouldn't have talked to you that way."

"You always worry about me, my little fireball." She took his head in her hands and Ace bent down in compliance so she could kiss his forehead. "Anyways, you're free to train here if you wish. Though you and your brothers have a special spot elsewhere."

Ace grinned. The place wasn't as large as the training area in Moby, but it would do. "I wouldn't mind a fight." He cracked his knuckles as he glanced around at the knights. Well, someone had to whip them into shape for Ma.

Rouge looked exactly as she did in her portrait: regal and grand from her adornments, yet motherly from her soft eyes and smile.

* * *

"I would be happy to pay for reparations on the orphanage, matron," Rouge said. "In fact, I'll send one of our best architects to assess the damage. Although, he might go overboard with renovations. I have a feeling that the kids will be very happy about that though."

The children in question whispered and shuffled around excitedly as the matron bowed in thanks. "We are so grateful, Your Majesty."

"No need to bow."

Suddenly, one of the little girls broke away from the group, and Ace gasped when she suddenly hugged his leg. "Wait, Ann!"

"What?" Ace muttered.

"Welcome back, Mister Your Highness!" The girl, Ann apparently, pulled away and held up a slightly crumpled piece of paper. "Ms. Matron told us that cards make people happy!"

It was more of a drawing than a card, but the effort was there all the same. It was covered in color, even though it was previously a blank white. The words on the card were spelled incorrectly and the letters went all over the card in rainbow colors. Ann stared up with him with wide eyes and a wide smile.

Ace couldn't help it. Her smile was contagious. "Thank you, Ann. I'll make sure to hang it up somewhere."

The matron rushed and pulled Ann back to her side. "We really must be going now. Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness. Say goodbye everyone!"

"Bye!" They chorused, but Ann's voice was the loudest of them all as she waved her entire arm.

"Bye-bye!"

"My, what a brave little girl," Rouge commented, waving back to her as the group exited the throne room. "Good with kids?"

Ace shrugged. "I probably get it from you."

"Of course," she said. "Do you want to go now? I still have a bit longer."

"I'll stay with you. Can't be bored all alone."

"Thank you, my little fireball."

* * *

As much as he admired Rouge as Queen and Commander, this was the side of her that he liked the best.

"See? You were just so cute as a baby!"

"Ma!" he whined in protest as he blushed.

"You are!" she insisted, running her finger across the page. "Look at your little freckles here."

"I have freckles now."

"And you're still my little freckled fireball." No amount of averted looks would stop her from noticing his fiery, red blush.

They fell into a comfortable silence as Rouge continued to flip through the pages of Ace's photo album, but eventually, Ace spoke up.

"Hey, Ma?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you call me that?" Obviously, she didn't know the irony of her nickname, but she'd used that nickname ever since he was little.

"Oh? You mean 'my little fireball?'"

"Er- yeah."

Rouge took Ace's hand and squeezed it tight. "You asked me when you were younger, but I'm happy to tell it again." She closed her eyes, smiling. "The day you were born, Ace, was one of the happiest days of my life."

His blush returned- thankfully at a lower intensity.

"You were so warm every time I held you, and you were born in winter so I wanted to keep you close to me. Even your little smile just lit a fire in our hearts."

"That's it? That's so cheesy."

Rouge poked his cheek. "I'm not done yet. I was  _about_ to say that you were a stubborn little baby too! Your father would say that you got it from me. I still remember when he tried to pick you up. You just pouted yelled 'no!' It was adorable."

"Not adorable, Ma," Ace muttered again, holding a pillow in front of his face.

"You've always been a little grumpy and even a little volatile too, but no matter what, you would always smile for me, so to me, you're my little fireball. And I-" she choked on her words, "-I missed you so much!"

When Ace pulled the pillow away, only to be greeted with the sight of Rouge covering her own face. She was shaking as she sniffled and gasped uncontrollably.

Ace sat up straight, pulling her hands away so he could hug her tight. Her tears soaked through Ace's shirt, making it stick to his skin.

Rouge always seemed so strong: Queen and Commander. Yet underneath that all, she was still a mother- a mother who had dealt with the loss of her son for seven years even with all her burdens. To Ace, his mother was warmth, but she was also one of the strongest women he had ever met.

The need to be strong… he understood that.

"I'm here, Ma. I'm here."


	12. Present Day - 7

"Ace!" Luffy greeted him with a tackle, as always.

But that still didn't stop Ace from grunting from the sudden weight. "Urgh! Hey, Lu. What's up?"

"Hang out with me today!"

Ace shrugged. Might as well. He wasn't busy today anyways. "Sure, Lu? What were you thinking?"

A few hours later, they were sitting at a table in one of those fancy buffets as they stuffed their faces full. The food wasn't as good as at the castle or back in Moby, but- "You were right, Lu! This sure is good!"

Luffy nodded, scraps of food flying around. The other patrons of the restaurant stared at them, but many of them were nobles. Neither Ace nor Luffy cared about their scowls and wrinkled noses.

Ace sighed and leaned back in satisfaction. Though Luffy had eaten much more than he had, they both finished around the same time. "So what do you wanna do now, Lu?"

Luffy grinned, beginning to laugh quietly. Suddenly, he stood up, seemingly unaffected by the heavy meal he just ate. "Run!" he yelled, bolting out the door.

Ace was only able to stare in shock, but it wasn't like he was going to stay still for long. He would get yelled at if he did. And so he dashed out after his little brother, who was easily located by the sound of his laugh.

They stopped only a few minutes later, Luffy staring back in the direction of the restaurant. He frowned. "Aw, no one followed us. It was always a lot more fun when people chased us!"

_They ran through the streets with smiles on their faces, ignoring the angry waiter chasing them and yelling, "Stop you damn, brats!"_

"Being a prince sucks."

"You're not wrong about that, Lu," Ace agreed. They both sat down on some barrels in the quiet alleyways. Ace pressed a hand against Luffy head, messing up his hair as the other laughed. "I'm sure you won't let that stop you from having fun though."

"Shishishi! Hell no, I won't!"

"Good. Now why don't you tell me some more stories ?"

* * *

If he wasn't with his mother, he was with Sabo and/or Luffy- like now. He didn't know who  _this_ was though.

"So you're Ace?" The girl tipped her head as she stared at him with wide eyes. "Sabo told me a lot about you. I've been waiting to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, um… Who are you?"

"Koala. I'm a friend of Sabo's, but I guess he hasn't said anything, huh," she said, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Things have been hectic, ok?"

"Anyways, thanks for looking after Sabo. I know he doesn't look like it, but he can be a real idiot sometimes."

"Am not," Sabo muttered as he continued to write.

Ace shrugged. "I haven't really done anything though."

"He's just been a lot happier ever since you've gotten back, and that's something."

He looked over at Sabo, who was trying to hide his face under the brim of his top hat. His blush was rather obvious despite this.

"See? He's a dork."

Ace grinned. "Sure is."

Sabo stopped his attempt at concealing his blush with a sigh. "What are you two doing here?"

"Someone has to make sure you don't overwork yourself," Koala said, crossing her legs as she leaned back in her chair.

"You know, you  _have_  been working an awful lot even after I got here," Ace agreed. "What happened to the smug, annoying Sabo?"

"Annoying?"

"He pushed me into the secret passageways."

"Of course he did."

What are you working on anyways, Sabo?" Ace finally asked. It was hard not to be curious. Sabo was here in the library after all.

"I help mom out with some papers and stuff," he answered, not taking his eyes off his writing. "She's busy, and besides, I need to know about things going on if- erm. Nevermind." Sabo took his papers and tucked them into his books. "I'll take a break for now though if that will make you two happy?"

"Very," they chorused, grinning at each other.

"I have a feeling that you two will get along just fine."

* * *

"Koala? You mean Sabo's girlfriend? Yeah, she super cool and kicks ass!"

"She's  _not_  my girlfriend!" Sabo defended, pushing Luffy with his elbow.

"Heh, you're blushing, Sabo."

"Sh-shut up! Not you too!"

There was nothing like this: just staying up with his brothers and talking about their days. Luffy always talked the most, and sometimes, it felt like he wouldn't stop.

"Nami was showing us this cool trick with her staff!" Luffy beamed as he chattered rapidly. "I think she accidentally electrocuted Zoro though."

"Is that really something you should laugh at?"

"I don't think he'll listen to you even if you say that, Sabo."

"You're probably right," Sabo said, lying down across the bed as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Are you alright?" Ace asked, frowning at his brother in concern. Luffy even stopped talking to listen.

"Just tired," he answered. "I wanted to take you guys somewhere tomorrow too, so I want to rest right now."

"Why don't you just rest then? I'm sure Luffy can tell you a nice bedtime story."

"Stop grinning at me, jerk."

Ace agreed to sleep early too for Sabo's sake (though it was hard for them not to chatter for a while longer).

* * *

They walked in quiet as leaves crunched under their feet. The path was clear, obviously frequently tread, which was strange for an empty forest. It was familiar though, and his feet carried him along the path naturally.

"Where are you taking me?" Luffy already seemed to know. He had dashed ahead ages ago.

"You'll see," Sabo answered, even though it wasn't much of an answer at all. "This is where we used to come all the time to train. You don't have to use the training hall if you don't want to."

"I kinda do that more to help Ma," Ace said.

"Suit yourself, but if you want a match just say the word. We're here by the way." Sabo waved ahead towards Luffy, who was sitting on the ground.

Ace grinned. "I'll look forward to that then." But his grin slowly vanished when he saw what was ahead:

It was a grave marker.

He found that words couldn't reach his lips as he just stared at the wooden marker. How could he not? It had his name on it after all. The river behind it rushed quickly, drowning out his scrambled thoughts.

"This is where we lost you," Sabo said, sitting beside Luffy. Ace joined them wordlessly. "There's a grave because eventually, we had to give up looking for you."

"We never  _actually_  gave up though, Ace!"

"There was no body, so we started looking for you when we were old enough. Mom was a little mad though since we left without permission and all."

" _A little_? You know how worried she gets, there's no way that it was just 'a little.'"

"Yeah, that's fair." Sabo nodded. "Do you remember how it happened though? Because I thought we should tell you."

"No need."

It was something that Ace had been coming to terms with every single day he spent with his family. They were warmth just like everyone back at Moby, but different and irreplaceable all the same. "My memory came back."

Sabo and Luffy's jaws practically hit the dirt.

"It came back in bits and pieces, but I think it's there for the most part," he said. "I remember that I jumped in after Lu because he was being an idiot-"

"Was not!"

"-but I didn't mind sacrificing myself because I was angry even though it was my birthday."

"We were trying to cheer you up, you know," Sabo said. "Why were you so angry anyways?"

"It was… Roger." He couldn't bring himself to say dad or even father. He had Pops now, and no  _biological_  father would ever mean as much to him. "I was just feeling pressured because he told me that he was sick."

"He told you? He never mentioned it to us until later."

"He probably just didn't want you to think about it, but he wanted  _me_  to prepare more so I could help Ma when he died." Ace closed his eyes. He remembered yelling at Roger for that. It had only been a few days before his birthday, but Ace's mood didn't improve. He was mad up until his memory vanished, and now, as annoying as he found him, there would never be a way to make amends. "I wasn't ready."

"Ace…" Sabo gently placed a reassuringly warm hand on his back. "You should have told us."

"You're right." Sabo was right about a lot of things, and Ace would concede that this was one of those times.

"Ace is here now though!" Luffy chimed, oblivious as ever to the atmosphere. "We should have a party!"

In Luffy's mind, party meant feast, which was perfectly fine with Ace, who agreed with a wide grin. "Sure. Ma will be happy as well."

The three of them left side by side moments later as the grave marker burned into a mere pile of ash.


	13. Present Day - 8

Ace's stomach growled as the servants piled plate after plate of the aromatic meal onto the dining room table. True, it was identical to the one served when he first arrived, but the atmosphere of family made it its own special meal.

"I'm so glad you remembered," Rouge said, smiling her, as always, gentle smile. She seemed calm, but Ace still remembered how she tearfully tackled him (she would never admit it) when they returned from the forest and informed her of the status of his memory. "Glad" was just scratching the surface. "I'm sure we're eager to celebrate though."

Ace grinned. "No kidding, Ma."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in!"

And dig in they did. Ace wasn't shy about stuffing his face in an unspoken eating competition against Sabo (he knew that neither of them would win against Luffy). Rouge laughed her gentle, melodious laugh, filling Ace's heart with warmth. Sabo smirked at him as he tried to distract him with a shove, crumbs flying through the air.

It was one of the most fun meals Ace had in a long time.

When the table was finally empty and everyone had their fill, Ace leaned back in his chair. "So good."

"You can say that again," Sabo agreed.

Luffy didn't answer- he had already fallen asleep in his chair- but when Ace turned to his mother, the contentedness of a full meal started to drain away. Her smile wasn't all quite there, and the gentleness of her eyes was replaced of a look of hard seriousness.

"As much as I want this happiness to remain unending, there are some serious things we must discuss."

Ace was suddenly frozen in his seat, speechless. He should have seen this coming, but that didn't mean he was prepared. He opened his mouth to try to speak, but no words came out.

It was too silent as his family stared at him.

"Your Majesty!"

The silence shattered as one of the castle's servants burst through the door of the dining hall. Rouge didn't fail to stand, reading the urgency in the man's tone. "What's wrong?"

"The Prince of Moby is ill!"

Those words (as confusing as they were) grounded Ace from his panic as he returned to reality. Prince of Moby? How? And why?

"Wait. Please explain. Prince of Moby? Why is he here?"

"One of the merchants returning found him adrift in the sea. Since he's royalty they decided to bring him to the infirmary here for rest."

As soon as Ace heard those words, he was up out of his sea, dashing in a mad run towards the infirmary.

"Wait, Ace! Where are you going?"

He knew where he was going now, so the run didn't take very long. He pushed the door open with force and it slammed against the adjacent wall. Briefly, Ace saw the castle's doctor glare at him, but then, his attention focused on the figure on the cot in the far corner. The rays of the setting sun spilled in across his body, and he was as beautiful as ever: it was Marco.

A million questions ran through his mind as he tried to properly process the sight in front of him: why was Marco here this far from home, and sick too? Was he just dreaming all of this?

His stomach dropped and his head was still spinning as he once again rushed over to the side of his bed. Immediately, he pressed a hand to Marco's forehead. It was warm. "And I'm supposed to be the reckless one, idiot," he muttered despite the fact that Marco was unconscious.

"Your Highness, I don't know how you know him, but please understand that you must not wake him."

Ace nodded, standing up to relieve the bed of his weight. His gaze never left Marco. "I'll come back later then."

He started to back out of the room only to bump into Rouge and Sabo, who had followed him. They stared at him, and like earlier, Ace was at a loss for words. "Sab', Ma, I-"

"Ace, I know we've never asked what you've been doing all this time, but…" Sabo trailed off in hesitation, but picked back up, "we really  _do_ need to know."

As much as Ace loved his family, he had lost track of time here. This had been his way to get away even for a moment, so he hadn't stopped to dwell on the true realities of his situation. Now, he had to face the consequences of his blissful ignorance head on. He took a deep breath.

"Where to start…"

* * *

They had moved into the homey little parlor. It was private just for their family as indicated from the little homemade trinkets and goofy pictures that adorned the shelves. Ace finished his story: everything from meeting Marco and Pops up until coming home.

He tried to look back up at them, but couldn't muster the will to. How could he? He just told them about his  _other_  family.

"Wow…" Rouge spoke first. "So all this time, you've been with Newgate?"

Ace swallowed and nodded. He could only imagine how she felt.

"Well, I'm glad," she continued, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

Ace looked up at her, eyes wide. "You're… you're not sad? Disappointed?"

'Why would I be? He's a good man, Ace, and you've been safe with him all this time. Oh, if only I'd kept in contact…"

"Don't blame yourself, Mom," Sabo said. "Ace is with us now, and that's what matters." He himself hadn't shown his own feelings towards Ace's story, but to Ace, it had been a struggle for him to even get the words out to his brother (about his other brothers nonetheless).

"You have to tell us more stories some time, my little fireball. Like more about how you  _actually_  became my little fireball."

"Ah, Marco was so worried about me after that," Ace said. "Wouldn't let me leave the bed for days while I recovered."

"Well what about him now?" Sabo asked, jabbing a finger towards the infirmary. "You seemed pretty worried about him too."

"Well, we've always been pretty close. I kinda want to be there when he wakes up."

When he said those words, Rouge pulled him up out of his seat. "Go then!" she insisted. She pushed him towards the door and despite his skepticism, didn't resist.

"Um, alright then, Ma. Can we set up a room for him too?"

"Of course, my little fireball."

Ace hugged her, stopping to mess with Sabo's hair before returning to the infirmary. The doctor had already left by the time he returned, and Ace breathed a sigh of relief from the moment of privacy. He sat on the cot next to Marco's, smiling down at his sleeping form.

"I hope you're better in the morning, reckless pineapple."

* * *

**Marco**

Marco opened his eyes only to be met with a stinging sensation and bright sunlight. "What happened?" he groaned quietly.

The last thing he remembered was flying towards Raftel. It had been raining again.  _That explains the headache._  He must have gotten sick the first time, unable to continue flying safely. He vaguely remembered hitting the water, being pulled beneath the waves before blacking out. But how long was the gap in his memory between then and now?

Marco sat up slowly, taking in his surroundings. To his right, there were cabinets filled with medical supplies: bandages and bottles of pills and liquids. Was he in some type of infirmary? There were other cots surrounding him and the one to his immediate left was occupied.

Marco almost couldn't believe his own eyes. He blinked and looked again.

The sunlight made Ace look like an absolute angel as he slept.

"Ace!" he tried to stand to move closer to him, but he still felt weak. Water, especially sea water, always hindered his regenerative abilities. He would have felt better by now if he hadn't fallen into the ocean.

"Prince Marco!" a red-haired woman chose that moment to walk into the room, pressing him back into his cot gently. "Please rest a little more."

"Is Ace alright? Where am I? And who are you?" he felt guilty about his slight interrogation towards the poor woman, but he couldn't help himself. He needed answers.

However, she merely giggled at his rapid-fire words, proceeding to answer with little difficulty. "Ace is perfectly fine. He's just sleeping. You are in Raftel. Some merchants fished you out of the sea and delivered you here to safety. And finally, I am Rouge."

Of course he had heard of Rouge, Sovereign Queen of Raftel. He bowed as much as he could from his position. "I apologize for my manners, Your Majesty."

"Please, none of that," she said. "It's so nice to finally meet one of Newgate's sons though. I have heard word, though Ace has told us a bit more about you all."

"I'm not surprised." Marco smiled at Ace fondly. "He sure loves to talk. Thank you for taking care of him, Your- ah…"

"Just Rouge is fine, and really, it's nothing," she said, donning her own gentle smile.

"Thank you, Rouge. He gave us all a scare when he suddenly vanished on a Raftelian ship."

"Yes, I'm afraid my reckless sons are all to blame for that. Ace is no exception either."

"Not, Ma," Ace yawned, sitting up while stretching his arms.

Marco chuckled. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

Ace turned his head towards the sound of Marco's voice and blinked. Suddenly, everything seemed to click at once, and Marco found himself flat on his cot as Ace tackled him into bed. "Marco! You're okay!"

Marco couldn't help wrapping his arms around Ace. "I should be the one saying that. You worried us all, idiot."

Ace pulled away enough for Marco to see his sheepish smile. "Sorry about that."

"Oh my." The soft words came from Rouge, who was smiling at Ace. "Shall I leave you two alone?"

"Ma!" Ace's freckled cheeks lit up red as he sat up straight.

"Ma?" Marco asked.

The lighthearted atmosphere suddenly vanished as Ace fell quiet, Rouge indeed taking her leave from the infirmary

He hadn't meant for the question to slip out, but Ace's words struck his curiosity. "What was that about?" But despite his question, Ace didn't meet Marco's gaze, choosing to look down at his feet instead. "You're making me nervous, yoi."

After another moment of silence, Ace finally answered. "It's a long story," he said, strangely quiet for the loud, freckled, fireball that Marco was used to. "I'm not sure if you'll like the answer."

"Ace." Marco took his hand and squeezed. Ace looked at him finally, but his eyes seemed ever so vacant. "I can handle it."

He wasn't sure if his words were even convincing himself, yet he noticed that Ace swallowed as he opened his mouth to finally give Marco the full story. "Marco, Rouge is my mother."

Marco's grip slackened. He hadn't known what he was actually expecting, but it certainly hadn't been that. The mere incredulousness of the words made his head spin.

"I have brothers too! Luffy and Sabo! And guess what?  _I'm_  the oldest."

When Ace started living with his family, he would tell Marco stories about what he thought his life was like in the past. Even though those stories stopped as time passed and as Ace's place in their family cemented, Marco still remembered Ace's words: simple with a mom and a dad and a little house in the forest- maybe a sibling or two. Never had he mentioned a castle and a queen for a mother and a very much dead king for a father.

"Please say something."

"Are you sure?" Marco was barely aware of the words passing through his lips. His gaze focused, and Ace's eyebrows furrowed.

Marco regretted his words as soon as Ace spoke. "What do you mean 'Are you sure'?" His words were on the verge of biting.

"Ace…"

Ace bolted up and away from Marco's grip. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"I didn't  _mean_  that-"

"But you said it!" Ace cried out. "I  _have_  my memories back, you know!"

Marco flinched.

"I was worried about you for being a sick idiot-"

"I am  _not."_

"Are you sure?" Ace mocked. Marco fell silent. "That's what I thought." He stormed out of the room without another word, Marco unable to find the words to protest.

"What have I done?" he sighed to himself, burying his face in his hands.

Footsteps returned to the room moments later, but they were too quiet to be Ace's heavy boots. "Oh dear. That didn't look like it went well."

"It was my fault," Marco said. "I'm so sorry, Miss Rouge."

Rouge frowned, smoothing the wrinkles in her dress as she sat on the cot Ace had previously occupied. "What for?"

"What I said disrespected both you and Ace. I shouldn't have, especially because of your hospitality."

"I'm not the one you should apologize to though," she said. "No matter what you've said, I've heard worse, and you seem like you didn't mean it." Marco looked up. Rouge's accepting and kind nature definitely matched her modest appearance. Most queens Marco had met wore jewels on their body everywhere they could accompanying grand, flowing gowns. At a glance, Rouge looked nothing like them. She looked like a mother. "We often say things we don't mean when we're not thinking straight. I'm sure you had your reasons."

Marco smiled back at her. "Thank you."

"It was nothing."

Ace… Ace was truly lucky to have Rouge for a mother.

* * *

**Ace**

Ace stormed into the library. It was quiet, but Ace knew that Sabo was there, and sure enough, there he was at his usual table.

"It's too early for you to be stomping around in here," Sabo said, not even glancing away from his papers. Ace crossed his arms, sitting next to his brother with a huff. They sat quietly for a few moments as Sabo's papers rustled until he finally looked up and sighed. "Fine. What's wrong?"

"Marco was being a total jerk."

"You probably haven't been awake for that long. How much of a jerk could he have been?"

"He didn't believe me when I said that you guys were my family!"

Ace himself still couldn't believe that Marco had doubted him. He always told Marco stories of what he thought getting his memories, and as much as he loved his family in Moby too, he had wanted this so much. Marco knew how he felt, so why did he say that?

"What  _did_ he say?" Sabo asked.

"He asked me if I was sure." Just thinking about those words made him clench his fists. "I can't believe him."

"That's pretty vague though. You could have waited for him to explain."

Ace froze and then turned to Sabo to glare. "Hey! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I mean, yeah I guess." His  _brother_ merely shrugged at his words. "Did you think about how he feels though?"

"What?"

"Well think about it. You vanished without a word on a foreign ship. For all they know, you could have been kidnapped."

Ace flinched, unable to avoid the truth to those words.

"If I was in his shoes, I'd be cautious too. And sure, I could be on your side, but you tend to be… hotheaded."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Is now really the time to make jokes?"

Sabo completely ignored him, continuing with his lecture of sorts. "Even if he shouldn't' have said what he did, you shouldn't have walked out. Neither of you are in the right."

Now that Ace thought about it, if he really wanted sympathy, he shouldn't have gone to Sabo. He was always the one who thought rationally about things, rarely acting on impulse.

So naturally, he was right.

Ace groaned in defeat, slouching down in his chair.

"See? You just need some time to cool off."

"Shut up."

Despite Sabo's advice to "cool off", Ace decided to vent his frustrations (both at Marco's words and at Sabo for being undeniably correct) by beating up a few training dummies. "Few" was an understatement though, considering that the sun had set by the time Ace decided to stop (only breaking to occasionally sneak some food out of the kitchens).

The halls were abandoned when he returned to sleep for the night, lit only by the moonbeams shining soft light into the hallway. He could have easily lit his way by using his powers, but he liked the atmosphere. He stopped in front of one of the windows, closing his eyes. The loneliness of the dead of night did wonders to "cool off". Memories rushed into his mind: lying on the ground and gazing up in awe at the celestial wonders…

" _Beautiful, right?"_

It took Ace a moment to realize that those words weren't a part of his memories. He reopened his eyes and turned towards the source of the noise. Though it was dark, the man in front of him was undoubtedly Marco.

They stood in silence, Ace unsure of what to say. Marco was the one who broke it. "The city," he said, stepping over to the window next to him. The Raftelian castle was located in the middle of the city up on a hill. Despite the late hour, he could still see blips of light from the overlook, indicating the bustle of life.

"Still doesn't beat the stars and the moon," Ace found himself saying.

They slipped into wordlessness once more as they enjoyed the view together until Marco's hand slipped over Ace's own, yet barely touching.

"Ace…" His words were a mere whisper. "I understand if you don't want to listen to me, but I didn't mean what I said at all. I just wasn't thinking straight, and for that I must apologize."

He should have known that Marco would apologize first. Sure, both of them could be stubborn at times, but he was definitely more sufficient in the category of manners. Why did he have to be so-

"Formal," Ace muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"You're way too formal!" he repeated. "Why can't I get a simple 'I'm sorry' for once? You're my family too, you know? I don't need the whole diplomatic approach."

"Well, I can do it again."

"No, no, no. Just watch and learn this time." Ace took a deep breath. "Marco, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

Ace could feel his cheeks heating up when Marco failed to respond. "Wh-what? Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"You have a very  _Ace_  way of apologizing, yoi."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," Marco chuckled. "Your pout is cute, by the way."

Ace looked away. "I'm not cute."

They leaned against each other, the tense silence now a comfortable one. The view was best admired together.

"Were you turning in for the night?" Marco asked. "I don't want to keep you from sleep."

"I was. Spent the whole day training. What about you? Shouldn't you be in the infirmary?"

"I was resting there all day, thank you very much. I was just heading to my guest quarters."

"Well, you're far from there. Guest rooms are on the other side of the castle."

"Really? Hm, he told me they were in this wing," he muttered, though he was loud enough for Ace to hear, striking his suspicion.

"Who told you?"

"Blond. Wavy hair like yours."

Sabo. He should have known, the sneaky bastard. "That, Marco, was my brother. I'm guessing he was trying to make it seem like you 'accidentally' found me."

"It worked out in the end, didn't it? I'll have to thank him when you formally introduce me tomorrow, though I should head to my guest room now."

"It's a far walk. Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" Ace didn't know what compelled him to say those words, but he didn't feel like taking them back in the slightest.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Hey, stop being so formal. My bed is big and lonely, and I missed you, you dumb chicken."

"Oh, so I'm a chicken now? Are sure you want to share a bed with a chicken?"

"Sh-shut up." Ace pulled him along, and thankfully, Marco voiced no further protest.

They fell asleep as they had a much needed talk about the day's events, and that night, the bed as more comfortable than it had ever been before.


	14. Present Day - 9

Marco was barely awake, but the figure he was holding was just too warm to let go. He wasn't expecting someone to speak though.

"I wasn't expecting to find the Prince of Moby in my brother's bed this morning."

Marco opened his eyes, realizing that the warmth he was curled around was indeed Ace. Their compromising position was only made worse by the fact that Ace's brother was staring straight at them.

"It's not what it looks like," he blurted out, feeling a little stupid from the sudden, impulsive words that only made the situation seem worse.

"Sure," the blond said, smirking. "Nice to officially meet you. I'm Sabo."

He failed to mention the less than desirable circumstances, but Marco decided not to bring it up either. "Marco. Do you- uh- need something, yoi?"

"I expected that you'd be in here- well, not specifically in my brother's bed, but anyways- I wanted to have a chat with you."

"Here? Now?"

"Yes. Is that a problem? Won't take long. I promise."

Marco shook his head, gently prying himself out of Ace's grip, who had been holding him too. Ace softly groaned, but continued to snooze away.

"I see you two made up. It'd be a downer on all of us if you were still fighting. He's not exactly levelheaded."

"I know. Stubborn and hotheaded, easy to worry about."

"That's why you said what you said, right?"

It was hard not to grimace just thinking about it. "It was," Marco answered truthfully. "We thought he had been kidnapped or something, and I, well, I'd been waiting for him to come home."

"Was he away for long?"

"Only around a week, but he's usually never been away for that long. I just wished he told me why, but I guess it worked out for him in the end."

"Worked out for us too, but I'm sorry he scared you all like that," Sabo said. "He probably wasn't thinking."

"I have a feeling that this isn't what you wanted to talk about."

"Smart, though it's interesting to hear what you have to say." He leaned back in his chair, relaxed- which was an emotion Marco wasn't feeling at all. "I'll get right to it then. Don't hurt my brother."

Marco stared. "That's it?"

"I'm serious."

"I assumed, but hurting Ace is the last thing I was to do." Marco paused, looking down at Ace's sleeping form to stroke his hair. "Even if we do fight, Ace is precious to me."

"Good," Sabo said. "I'll be watching you though."

Being interrogated as soon as he awoke was Marco's first impression of Sabo.

* * *

Thankfully, some servants left two stacks of clothes: one for him and one for Ace. Ace had not awoken yet however, so Marco chose to look around the room while he waited.

The room was nothing like the ones in Moby. Marco was used to seeing a room packed full with each siblings' things. Izo and Ace's room had a tendency to be one of the more cluttered ones when they forgot to clean: Izo's fabrics and sewing needles strewn about the tables and chairs while Ace's neglected paperwork littered the floor. This room was certainly cleaner, but still somehow Ace: a pair of boots at the door, some packaged chips for a snack on the table next to a staff, but he kept his hat and the beads right at his bedside, something that made Marco smile. There was a desk, but it was empty with the exception of a stack of books covered in a layer of dust.

"Marco?" Finally, Ace was awake.

"I'm here," he answered. "Sabo told me they'll serve breakfast soon."

"Breakfast?" Ace leaped up. "Wait, Sabo was here?"

"He left a while ago."

"They're going to eat all the food!" He almost bolted out the door, but Marco grabbed his hand, glancing over Ace's bed-tousled hair and messy bedclothes.

"Don't you want to change first?"

"Er- right. Thanks, Marco!"

They walked to the dining hall together- well, more like with Marco following Ace, who was running through the castle halls- only to arrive at a surprisingly rowdy scene. There were only three people at the table, but the piles of plates, and the shuffling servants, and the yelling of cooks from behind the constantly swinging kitchen doors was jarring. Sure, Marco was used to loud meals, but usually that occurred with more people.

Rouge stood from her seat at the head of the table, walking over to greet them. "Good morning, Marco." She hugged Ace and kissed his forehead. "And good morning to you too, my little fireball."

"Ma!" Ace's cheeks were a faint pink again, making his freckles stand out.

"What a cute nickname." Marco smirked at Ace. "Suits you."

"Not you too," Ace groaned, pulling Marco away to lead him to their seats. He sat next to Ace, but all he could see across from him was a mountain of plates. "That's Luffy. He's too busy eating to notice you right now. I'll introduce you later."

Ace began to pile bacon and eggs onto his plate as Marco glanced around at the available options. He picked up a banana and a mango from the pile of fruit that was still full, pausing before scooping up some blueberries and strawberries with his spoon. As he began slicing, he slipped a few pieces onto Ace's plate (he really needed to balance his diet more).

It wasn't until he started eating that he noticed the mountain in front of him disappeared, and someone was staring right at him. He froze in his chewing, unsure of how to react.

"Who's the pineapple?"

Of course it had to be a dumb nickname.

"Luffy!" Crumbs of bacon sprayed out in front of Ace as he yelled out. "You can't just call him that!"

Sabo however, spoke calmly. "Luffy, this is Marco. I told you about him yesterday."

Luffy frowned as if he were thinking. "Nope! Don't remember!"

Ace and Sabo sighed in unison while Rouge smiled into her breakfast. Marco finally swallowed his food before saying, "It's nice to meet you, yoi."

"You sound funny."

"Luffy!"

A messy breakfast and an oblivious attitude was Marco's first impression of Monkey D. Luffy.

* * *

It was hard to forget the first impression of a motherly Portgas D. Rouge, and his impression was only cemented when she invited him to the parlor later for a cup of tea.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, handing him his cup.

"Much better, thank you," Marco said.

"I'm glad to hear that. And Ace?"

"He's not mad anymore at least, we talked about it last night."

"I was worried. He can be such a stubborn child."

"You can hardly call Ace a child anymore."

"I know." Rouge's words were quiet as she looked away towards one of the shelves, crowded with pictures. An apology formed on Marco's lips, but Rouge continued speaking before Marco. "Anyways, how is your father? It's been so long since we've been in contact. Well, after the funeral and all, it'd been much too busy."

"Still strong and active as ever, and as he would brag, still as tolerant to alcohol as ever."

"Ah, yes. He and Roger had their fair share of drinking contests back in the day."

"I wouldn't put it past him, yoi."

They sat there for a while chatting about a number of things: family, affairs of their respective countries, stories about Ace. Eventually, both teacups as well as the teapot were empty.

"What do you plan on doing now?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Marco admitted. The same question had come to mind the previous day, but his argument with Ace had preoccupied his thoughts. Before, he knew he needed to have a plan of attack so he could bring Ace back to Moby, but now that he knew Ace was safe, that plan flew out the window.

"It would be lovely if you stayed for a bit," Rouge suggested with a welcoming, warm smile. "Ace would love having you here, and we have our mid-year festival coming up soon."

Celebrating a festival with Ace? It sounded wonderful, bringing warmth to Marco's heart to push his serious thoughts to the side.

"I think that sounds good, Miss Rouge."

The door opened as he finished, and Ace stepped in."Hi, Marco. Hi, Ma," he said. "Are you done? I was wondering if I could show Marco around the castle."

"Of course, dear." Rouge gestured at Marco to go as Marco bit back a laugh, both of them failing to mention how she had allowed him to explore the castle on his own already. A tour wouldn't hurt to further familiarize himself with the pace though (castles could be very confusing places).

Ace took Marco's hand. "Let's go then!"

"Yes, let's."

* * *

Ace groaned, and even though he was barely awake, he could feel that the bed wasn't as warm as it previously had been in the past few days.

"Marco?" He opened his eyes and sat up. Marco wasn't next to him, and there was only one stack of clean clothes for the day: Marco was long gone. "He could have waited for me," he grumbled to himself, knowing that his complaints were useless. The walk to breakfast was rather lonely. He had gotten used to walking by Marco's side as they chatted about little things.

He arrived in the dining hall and his eyes immediately darted to the seat Marco had been using: it was empty. Before he could speak, Sabo answered. "Marco finished eating already."

"Where is he?"

"Said he was going to the library."

Ace quickly piled some slices of ham and scrambled eggs onto his plate (it was less than usual, but it would have to do), but just as he was about to leave for the library, Rouge coughed and Sabo glared.

"I hope you're not thinking of bringing food into the library."

Ace felt himself start to sweat. "Um… no." He quickly returned to his seat, taking a bite of his eggs. It was hard not to think about the empty seat next to him, bouncing his leg in impatience.

Ace rushed over to the library as soon as his plate was clean. "Are you there, Marco?" he called, ducking between bookshelves.

"I'm here!"

After following the source of the words, he found Marco in the very back corner as he lounged on a sofa with a book. "Good morning," he greeted.

"You should say it when I actually wake up," Ace said.

"You're pouting again."

"Am not!" Ace lay down next to Marco, legs taking up the rest of the sofa as he rested his head on Marco's lap. "Oi," he softly protested when Marco rested his book on his forehead. "What are you reading?"

_"A History of Raftel."_

"Boring."

"Say what you want, but I find it rather fascinating," Marco said, turning another page.  _"'In celebration of Raftel's founding, an annual festival is hosted on the anniversary of the creation of the country. Activities include merchant and food stalls as well as a midnight ball among other things.'"_

"Oh right! The festival!" He had lost track of time. Was it July already? "We'll have to go out that day. I forgot what it feels like."

"Seems like a plan," Marco agreed. "Your mother told me about it, but reading about it piqued my interest. You'll have to show me your favorite activities."

"Experiencing it will be way better than reading about it in some stupid book, but well, it's been a while, so I dunno if things will be the same," Ace said.

"I guess we'll just have to experience this together." Ace could see Marco's smile past the book being held in front of his face. "It'll be like the market back at home."

"I still need to take you to the market here! It's really cool since I think you'll like it. It's pretty organized. like a certain chicken I know."

A hand left the book to ruffle Ace's hair. "Are you trying to say something, Ace?"

Ace grinned. "Just teasing, but you can be a neat freak a lot of the time."

"Easy for you to say. When was the last time you cleaned your room?"

"Hey! I clean. It's Izo's fault too with all his sewing stuff, and besides, my room here isn't even that messy."

"You haven't had any paperwork here, Ace."

"Sh-shut up! I try at least."

"I know, I know," Marco said. "I won't bother you about it anymore. Let's just relax for now, yoi."

Just sitting together even without words was comforting, especially when Marco kept a hand on his head, stroking his hair gently like Rouge would. Ace closed his eyes, leaning into the touch.

"Getting sleepy there? Didn't you just wake up"

"Mm hm." He curled in on himself a bit, keeping his head in Marco's lap. "I ate a big breakfast." His words were quiet as he was lulled closer back to the world of dreams.

"Alright then, Ace. I'll be here for you when you wake up."

Marco was too warm for Ace to acknowledge his words, and so even though it was still morning, he found himself at peaceful rest in Marco's lap.

* * *

"So where are we going today?" Marco asked to Ace, who hummed quietly as they strolled outside of the castle along a stone pathway.

"See those?" Ace pointed ahead to an area concealed by hedges, a tree towering above. "Those are the gardens. It's nice to go there to relax, but I'm sure the library suits you just fine."

"I get out too, yoi."

"Yes, when I drag you out or when you need to do so to work," Ace said. "You need to get out to have fun, Marco! Lately, you've just been doing paperwork or..." The words mentioning Marco's potential suitors died on his lips. Ace bit his lips and looked away from Marco as his bouncy steps slowed.

A gentle hand touched his shoulder, and it was hard not to look back at Marco, whose eyes were shining in concern. "Is everything alright, Ace?"

Marco's mere presence was so reassuring that the smile, albeit one much less intense, returned to Ace's face. "Yeah, sorry. Just lost my train of thought." As comforting as he was, Ace knew that he could never tell him the truth. "Let's go have that picnic!"

"Oh?" Marco raised an eyebrow, smiling at the same time. "A picnic?"

Ace held up the basket he had been holding in his other hand, blanket draped over his arm. "Yep! C'mon. I want to show you my favorite spot." They wove through the hedges together, stopping occasionally to admire some of the different arrangements of the bushes. Currently, the flowers were arranged by colors on the outer ring of the garden, creating a wonderful rainbow in a myriad of blossoms as they walked along.

"Ma worked hard on these gardens. There were only a few types of flowers here she first became queen, but she wanted to change that. Nowadays, the castle staff help maintain it with magic, especially when they want to move things around."

"Not always like this then?"

"Nope. Sometimes they go by season, or they change them for the occasion."

"Magic is truly remarkable," Marco said in awe, brushing his fingers against one of the roses. He pulled his hand back as tiny flames sprouted around a minuscule prick on the tip of his index finger.

Quickly stopping to check if Marco was okay, Ace nodded in agreement. The gardens at Moby's castle were beautiful, but it always stuck to seasonal blooms, no one working in the gardens using magic upon them. He and Marco often took walks there together too, but their other siblings would spend time there as well (like Izo, who would sometimes take cloths out for a flash of inspiration on a design). It was hard to get complete privacy there. Here, as much as Rouge loved to visit the garden daily, Raftel's castle was much less crowded, so Ace was easily able to ask everyone for privacy for his picnic with Marco.

The center area of the garden was reserved for only the family's favorite plants: most notably Rouge's red hibiscus bushes ("These are like the one in your hat, yoi.") or the tree that towered above. Ace set the basket down next to his feet before taking the baby blue blanket and waving it out flat onto the grass. He and Marco sat down together as they smoothed out the wrinkles.

"So why the sudden picnic?" Marco asked, helping Ace take sandwiches out from the basket.

Ace merely shrugged as an answer. "It just seemed like a nice day, and I thought it would be nice for us to come here together."

"Well, I won't complain then. The flowers are beautiful here."

"Of course." That was absolutely an indisputable fact.

"Are you sure that you don't want to eat inside with everyone? This isn't a lot." Marco would always get concerned if Ace didn't eat enough, and as much as Ace would reassure him, his worries weren't completely unfounded. When Ace first became a part of the family, he was unaware of his own appetite. After one incident of extreme exhaustion, Marco took charge of making sure Ace ate adequate meals.

Ace reached up and poked Marco's nose playfully. "I'll be fine, pineapple! I ate a snack earlier."

"Oh? I'm back to a pineapple now?"

"It's a promotion."

Marco chuckled, poking Ace back. "Well, thank you very much then, yoi."

"You're welcome."

They took turns speaking and eating, Ace nodding eagerly as he chewed while Marco smiled to Ace's own stories. No matter what, they could always find something to talk about. Even if they didn't always care or understand what the other was talking about, just having someone to listen to was enough for both of them.

"By the way, thank you for the sandwiches, Ace."

Ace blushed, eyes wide. "Wh-what are you talking about?" There's no way he could have figured it out, but on the other hand, Marco was much more perceptive than Ace was and his smirk said everything.

"I saw you go into the kitchen after breakfast. I thought it was suspicious, but I guess it wasn't too hard to figure out."

"You weren't supposed to know."

"Don't feel bad about it, Ace," Marco reassured. "As delicious as Sanji's cooking is, it means a lot that you took time to make lunch yourself. I'll make lunch for you next time."

"Do you even know how to cook?" Ace teased.

"Says the one who just made sandwiches."

"Fair enough."

They finished their meal and packed up the bag, but both silently agreed to remain for awhile longer. They laid on the blanket side-by-side, not particularly looking at anything (the tree obscured much of the sky), but just basking in each other's presence.

"This is my favorite tree, you know," Ace said. "I used to climb all the time with my brothers, and well, there were a lot of close calls."

Marco turned on his side slightly towards him, raising an eyebrow. "How close?"

"Broke my leg."

He sighed. "Of course. You make me worry even when it's in the past. I can only imagine how Rouge felt about that."

"I just make things more interesting. And all she did was scold me, I'll have you know."

"Hm, if you say so."

Ace puffed up his cheeks in a huff, jabbing at Marco's nose again with a finger. Marco caught in a gentle him before he could make contact, retaliating by poking Ace back. "Not fair," Ace muttered.

"I'm just teasing."

Soon after, Marco sat up, Ace frowning in concern. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's not that." Marco shook his head. "I was just thinking that we could climb it right now if you want to."

His words brought a slow, yet sly grin onto his face. "That sounds like a good idea." Before Marco could say anything else, Ace leaped up and sprinted towards the base of the tree. "I'll race you to the top! And no cheating!"

If Ace hadn't rushed off so quickly, he would have seen Marco shoot him his own sly grin. "Alright then. I'll play."

Despite Ace's head start, they grabbed the branch deemed as their destination at the same time. Thankfully, the branch was wide enough to comfortably relax on with two people, Ace Ace lay on his back, panting. "I... I win."

"I'll concede." He wasn't panting like Ace was (he didn't tire as quickly because of his powers), but he did take a seat. "So what do you want to do now? Want to head back down?"

"Let's wait until the sunset!" Ace suggested, finding just enough energy for enthusiasm. "I haven't seen it from up here in a while and I want you to watch it with me."

"That's still a while away."

"You're welcome to leave and get another one of those boring books."

"I'll be back quick then. Maybe I'll bring a picture book for you."

"Hey! Those fairy tales are exciting, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Want me to read them to you then?"

"Jerk."


	15. Present Day - 10

Occasionally, Ace had busy days around the castle. This was especially true with the mid-year festival in a few days. Just like in Moby, Ace worked with the knights, which made sense since he had been good at fighting from early on. On the first day alone, during which Ace left a note for him after waking up before him surprisingly, Marco decided to get some things done. Unfortunately, a knock on the door of the room he was sharing with Ace interrupted his vague thoughts of plans.

"Morning," Sabo greeted. Luffy was behind him, absentmindedly staring around at the hallway as he rocked on his heels.

Marco raised an eyebrow. "Good morning, yoi. Do you need something?"

"Just thought you'd be lonely today."

Despite the obvious lie, Marco decided to go along with it. "So, where are we going then?"

That's how Marco found himself in the forest, facing Sabo, who was twirling a staff in his hands. "I hope you're as good as Ace says you are."

Marco dodged a swing with ease, smirking. "Well, I'd hate to disappoint."

hey traded blows, kicks and punches as Luffy whooped and hollered, cheering Sabo on from the rock he was perched a top.

While Marco had his fair share of spars with his brothers back home, it had been a while since he had a real challenge: he was rarely sent out for fieldwork unless absolutely necessary since his skills were valuable at the castle, and while his brothers were far from weak, it was nice to face a fresh opponent.

Even n the heat of the spar, Marco could spot distinct similarities between Sabo and Ace's styles. Ace used to use a staff before obtaining his fire magic, and even now, he remained adept with the weapon. Sabo's style was more calculated, slightly more predictable than Ace's wild swings, but in return, he observed Marco. He dodged much more frequently (as opposed to Ace who preferred to just take the brunt of the blow).

The match ended in a draw. "You're good," Sabo said, leaning against his staff.

"As are you." He mean what he said, even though he could have gotten the upper hand on Sabo with the use of his powers. "Should we take a break? That match lasted quite a while."

"Not quite."

"My turn!" Luffy chimed, leaping off the rock he was sitting on.

"Taking a break is child's play," Sabo said. "I'm just seeing if you can keep up like Ace does. Fifty matches against each of us."

"Fifty?" That was a total of one hundred matches! That sounded like something insane his brothers would do. Then again, Sabo and Luffy  _did_  remind him of some of his brothers through their respective the sly attitude and the enthusiasm.

Marco was sure that every single one of his siblings would find some way or another to get along with these two troublemakers.

"What? Can't keep up?"

"Bring it on."

* * *

Honestly speaking, Marco never expected to end up in Raftel's capital when searching for Ace, let alone the castle. On the other hand, he decided that this would be the perfect learning opportunity.

While Marco's impression of a kind and gentle woman stayed true when spending time with Rouge, she was very much capable of running the country. Even though she never failed to attend a meal with her family (a tradition that was sacred in Marco's own home), she was often the first to leave when advisors or knights requested her presence.

Through this, she kept her appearance humble, with a few rare exceptions. When meeting with the people to listen to requests, she wore her crown, and even then she preferred to dress down like today.

"Thank you for accompanying me, Marco," Rouge said, holding the skirt of her dress to help her walk more easily.

Marco smiled back. "It was nothing, Miss Rouge. This is important to me too."

"Yes. I'm glad that you wish to reopen relations between our countries. I'll try my best as well."

It wasn't exactly easy work, especially since he wanted to spend time with Ace too. The thought of telling Ace about his plans made his stomach swim though. He didn't want him to worry about it when he being here made him smile so much.

That's why he woke up before Ace on some mornings: to work. Learning about Raftel was integral to reestablishing a strong bond between it and Moby. Ace had claimed reading  _A History of Raftel_  was boring, but Marco deemed it necessary. Besides, even if Ace didn't want to read it now, he'd have plenty of time to catch up when…

Marco pushed those thoughts to the side for now.

"I had Shakky contact Ryka. She's the go-to for precious metals and blacksmithing. I'll make sure to write it down later so you can speak with her."

"Thank you. I'm sure it will be useful." The renewal of official trade deals was one of the priorities under actual relations, though that actual task came with little difficulty.

"By the way, Marco, please make sure not to read too much tonight." Her words were kind, but a clear scolding. "I know you spend most of your time with Ace, but please don't overwork yourself."

"There's much for me to learn before-"

"Ah, I'm sure those books aren't  _that_  fascinating, and Ace keeps telling me he wants to wait for you anyways. I'm pretty sure he just wants to spend more time with you."

Rouge's parental concern reminded Marco much of Pops, though she could be sterner and stubborn when she wanted to. Despite her subtlety, Marco knew that this was one of those times. There was truth in her words. He needed to spend time with Ace before it was too late.

"Are you going to use the snail phone again?"

"Of course. Pops asked for an update last time."

"Please tell him hello for me. I'll call as soon as I can."

"I'm sure he'd like that."


	16. Present Day - 11

"Marco, wake up! The festival is today!"

It was definitely surprising when Ace suddenly sprung out of bed, especially after showing signs of his deep and comfortable sleep. On the other hand, Marco should have expected it with Ace's excitability.

"I'm up," Marco chuckled as he watched Ace struggle to pull his shirt over his head much too fast. He set the book he was skimming through down on the nightstand. "Slow down or you might hurt yourself."

"I'm fine," Ace adjusted his slightly lopsided shirt. "Have more faith in me."

"Well, I better. I'm trusting you to lead us around town today."

"My sense of direction is pretty good, thank you very much."

"Are you two ready yet?" Sabo called from the other side of the door after a rather loud knock. "There's breakfast before you go out!"

There was breakfast, as usual, but there was something very  _unusual_  about it today. "Ah. No meat today?"

"Stop looking at me like that, damn it." Ace said. "I can survive without meat for a bit."

"It's tradition," Rouge explained, shoving a peeled orange into Ace's hands, ignoring his whine after she reminded him about its health benefits. "Fruits and vegetables for breakfast to celebrate the bounty of the land, meat and dairy for lunch to symbolize the evolution of society, and a grand feast in the evening as the culmination of our country."

"Lu isn't the best with it- well, in the morning at least."

"Speaking of that, where is he?"

"Probably at Sanji's. We'll probably see him around later."

"I'll expect it then."

"Trust me. No one expects Luffy."

When they headed into the town, the streets were still rather empty save for a few people milling about.

"It's quiet," Marco said.

"Yeah the festival hasn't started yet. Most people are still with their families right now. Anybody running a stand sets up now too and usually anyone else around helps them."

"You were probably too much of a troublemaker for that."

"Hey! I'm good with my hands! I bet I could build a stand all on my own!"

"Let's not. We might be here all day." But Ace didn't hear him. He had already rushed off to help an old couple stack up some fruits.

Marco helped another stand across from Ace set up their baked goods. The smell wafted down the street, attracting some of the early morning festival goers. When Marco looked over, Ace was juggling a couple of apples in front of the old couple, beaming wide.

"So did they give you anything?" Ace asked, offering out one of the apples he had been juggling.

Marco shook the paper bag he was holding in response. "Some sweets. They have chocolate in the center."

He spotted the gleam in Ace's eyes and moved the bag out of Ace's grip before he could snatch it from him. "Nice try." Marco smirked at him. "Save it for after lunch."

"Fine." They tucked the apples into the bag with the pastries and continued down the street.

The morning stands were quite pleasant:breakfast foods, flowers in every color imaginable, handmade jewelry and pottery. Even though it was a holiday, people still insisted on haggling down prices. Ace on the other hand, paid full value on the earrings he bought for Rouge. "They're her favorite flower!" Meanwhile, Marco glanced up at the hibiscus nestled securely into the brim of Ace's hat. Marco himself ended up purchasing a picture frame, which would be a good present for everyone when he returned home.

The eastern square was set up with tables and chairs, though most spots were occupied by people feasting on food from stalls. "East is normally market district, so lunch stalls are here," Ace explained.

"I'm guessing you can your brothers loved this part of the day then."

"You bet."

"Well, make sure to leave some of others."

"Hey!"

Ace ended up in charge of finding them seats while Marco purchased lunch, which consisted of heaping plates of potatoes and pork in tomato sauce spooned over steaming rice. Marco's stomach growled as he set the plates down on the edge of the fountain where he sat.

"Aw, that's all?"

"You're a big boy. Maybe you'll take your time."

"Boo."

Ace did however eat at a normal pace, which was a stranger sight than seeing him eat normally. It was almost cute: the sight of Ace purposefully chewing instead of inhaling, appreciating the meal that was cooked specifically for this occasion. Marco was still enjoying the spices and herbs of the sauce when Ace stood up, pocketing money for seconds.

Ace's second portion consisted of chicken and noodles. He slurped, a bit of sauce splashing out as Marco divided up the pastries (giving Ace the chocolate filled ones and leaving the cream filled ones for himself).

"Delicious!" Ace exclaimed, half of the pastry already stuffed into his mouth. "Want a bite?" He offered it out, the chocolate center dripping onto his pants.

Marco chuckled. "Sure." Ace didn't seem to be aware that there was still chocolate on the corner of his mouth either. He handed Ace his own pastry so he could have a taste, which elicited the same response as the chocolate.

They entered South District as Ace took the last bite of the last pasty they had been given. Some eager children had almost knocked it out of his hands as they rushed towards the plethora of colorful stands.

"I used to play the games here all the time with Sabo and Lu," Ace said. "There's a strength test where they make you pull a horse cart!" He waved. Luffy, who swung his arm high above his head in enthusiasm, was currently in line for it along with a few of his other friends.

In his mind, Marco pictured Ace as a child, effortlessly pulling the cart along as shocked onlookers watched. "Well, I don't doubt that you'd ace that now."

Ace snorted. "Was that a pun?"

"I'm sure you appreciated that one."

"Oh! Your Highness!" The woman running the stand bowed in respect before Ace reassured her that there was no need. "Would you like to try our game?"

Ace shot a grin at Marco- the type of grin he'd use after defeating one hundred men in a row. "Sure! How does it work?"

The woman slipped a small ball into Ace's hand, pointing to the circular tub of water and explaining the different types of prizes he could get depending on what color boat the ball landed in. Ace's throw landed into one of the three silver boats, making it rock back and forth.

"Not bad, right Marco? Beat that!"

Marco's ball landed in the sole golden boat on the first try. It was Marco's turn to grin. "You were saying?"

Ace huffed as Marco balanced the small spotted dog plush Marco had received as a prize on his hat. "I'll definitely win something for you too."

And he did, showing off by flexing before knocking a smug arm-wrestling champion down a few notches. Marco couldn't help smiling when Ace handed him a stuffed bird.

"What about that game with the throwing knives?"

"You're on."

They competed at the throwing knives, and the horse cart, and several other games. They refrained from taking anymore prizes though, competing purely for themselves. The verdict was was a fifty-fifty tie, though they wouldn't want it any other way.

"Best day," Ace said simply.

Marco smiled back as the sounds of the cheesy play in front of them faded away. "Definitely."

* * *

Marco didn't know what to expect when they arrived back at the castle, but he was certainly not expecting to be whisked away from Ace and stuffed into Raftelian formal garments. Marco hardly noticed the difference from formal garments he would wear back at home, though the buttons were silver and engraved with the royal crest as opposed to the bronze.

He made his way to the ballroom alone, adjusting his sleeves as he walked. Lively sounds grew louder as he approached, stopping in front of the doors.

"You look good in blue."

Marco turned to Ace, who had arrived from the opposite wing. "And red is perfect on you, I must say."

Ace grinned. "Are you ready?" he asked, but instead of waiting for a response, he pushed the double doors open.

Light spilled out from the ballroom as the crystal chandeliers glittered to illuminate the dancers down below. The people were consumed in their celebration, hardly any of them even glancing in the direction of the door, save for Rouge who was standing on the balcony with them.

"Welcome!" She smiled, pulling both Marco and Ace into a hug. "How was the festival?"

"It was certainly an interesting experience."

Ace shoved at him with his elbow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rouge laughed, pushing the two closer to the party. "Well off you go, you too! I'm sure there are more interesting experiences to come for you, Marco. Oh and, Ace, please make sure that Luffy doesn't eat all the food."

"The food!" Ace took off down the stairs before Marco could even react. In the distance, he could see Luffy stuffing his face, as crumbs flew about and spattered across the once white tablecloth.

"Marco, before you go, I have something for you." Rouge held up the letter she had been holding. "That's for tomorrow."

"Thank you so much, Rouge."

Following Ace wasn't much of problem considering that he had already spotted Luffy earlier. Ace had joined the feasting immediately, Marco smiled, about to join him, but before he could, someone tapped his shoulder.

"Excuse me, but you are Prince Marco of Moby are you not?" The girl took the skirt of her puffy, lilac dress and curtsied, Marco bowing back, yet feeling quite awkward. "May I have a dance?"

She hadn't looked up yet, waiting for Marco to offer out his hand. He sighed quietly, starng at Ace, who was consumed in his eating. As much as he wished to refuse, doing so would only cause a scene. He'd prefer not to deal with the temper tantrum of a spoiled noble in Raftel as well as Moby.

"You may."

Every royal learned to dance, of course. There were countless balls and celebrations to attend as a prince. He had danced with his suitors like this before: stepping in time to the lighthearted music as the warmth of hands slipped past each other. He'd heard stories of how romantic it supposedly was, but he couldn't bring himself to look into her eyes. He was far from in love with her.

"Me next!" Another girl yanked him out of the first girl's grip as he almost tumbled over pink ruffles trailing along the floor. Marco quickly adjusted his footing and continued the dance.

By the time Marco was whisked into his third partner's arms, he absolutely regretted his decision. It was quite obvious what they wanted, and just as Marco was about to make intentions clear by stopping, a warm hand pulled him away from his current partner.

"You don't look like you're having too much fun, pineapple."

Marco smiled at Ace, adjusting his grip in order for them to follow the steps properly. "Shall I thank you, my knight in shining armor?"

"A dance would be enough, my prince."

Their grins widened and they burst into laughter, throwing the rhythm of their steps off the beat of the music. "That was so cheesy!"

Marco let go of Ace's hand, messing with his hair."You're one to talk,  _my prince."_

A pair of dancers bumped into Ace, making him stumble forward back into Marco's grip. "Let's get out of here."

Ace dragged Marco through the crowd, dodging the grabbing hands of noble girls who wanted a chance to dance with either prince. The balcony wasn't far from the party, so the chatter and the music was barely muffled.

"We weren't even there for that long, yoi," Marco said.

"Who needs some dumb ball? We can always go back later. The moment was just… right."

"Right for what?"

Ace didn't answer. Instead, he leaned on the stone railing, looking up at the sky.

"There's just something about hearing music from far away like this. It's relaxing," he sighed, closing his eyes. "Don't you think?"

"Beautiful."  _Beautiful. You are beautiful._

"Yeah! I just love how the stars just swirl across the sky." Ace reached up, tracing the stars with his fingers. Marco clenched his fist, squishing the temptation to join his hand with Ace's.

"It reminds me of Moby," Marco agreed instead. "Remember how we'd lie on the floor of the magic hall and just stare up through the ceiling?"

"How could I forget? You really chewed me out that first time."

"I was doing what I was supposed to."

"But things are way more fun when you're not!" Ace turned to frown at him, though the slight jut of his lower lip suggested it was more of a pout. "See how today went? You don't have to think about your duty all the time, you know."

"I suppose you're right." Such thoughts were in the back of his mind even now. He needed to tell Ace, needed to tell him that-

His thoughts were cut off by a low groan and Ace's laughter. "You forgot to eat didn't you?"

Marco raised an eyebrow at him. "Well it's a bit hard when  _someone_ rushes off to the feast table and leaves me to the rabid nobles."

"Well, I'm sure there's still some left. C'mon, Marco." Ace started back towards the ballroom, Marco lingering behind for a few moments.

"Ace… I'm so sorry."


	17. Present Day - End

Ace woke up to an empty bed.

He wasn't exactly a stranger to it, but he had been getting used to Marco shaking him awake just in time for breakfast. "Stupid bird's probably already started on paperwork," he muttered to himself as he yawned. Ace wished he would forget about his stupid work while he was here, even if it was to handle the diplomatic relations between Moby and Raftel, but Ace had a feeling he would be like this to the end of time,

He sprung out of bed and tossed his clothes on, deciding to stop at the library on the way to breakfast. It was a bit out of the way, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure that Marco had eaten too.

"Marco?" Ace called, busting through the double doors of the library, voice echoing. But Marco didn't call back, making Ace frown. "That's weird." Maybe Marco had fallen asleep? It wasn't a strange theory since Marco had the tendency to overwork himself.

Ace made his way to the nook where Marco usually was. He had practically made the little space his own, and Ace just loved stopping by to see him. However, the space was empty: neither Marco nor a ridiculous stack of paperwork were anywhere to be found. He shrugged, guessing that Marco was still eating breakfast.

When he arrived for his own meal though, the seat next to his was empty. He knew he couldn't just expect Marco to be in the same three places, but he  _should_  have ran into Marco somewhere along the way. It was getting a little ridiculous.

"Good morning, Ace!" Rouge piped from her seat at the head of the table.

"Morning, Ma." He looked around the dining room again, but that helped none. "Where's… where's Marco?"

The brightness drained from Rouge's expression as soon as those words left Ace's mouth. She set her utensils down immediately, folding her hands in front of her. "Marco… He didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

He saw Rouge's lips move, but he didn't quite hear it, mind refusing to process it. He asked Rouge to repeat it, and finally the meaning of the words actually hit him.

"Ace!" Even if Ace were to stop to listen to his mother's words, he didn't have any time to waste. He dashed out the door and towards the stables. He wasn't quite the best at riding, but this was an emergency.

_Please let me make it on time._

* * *

Port Reinard was the northernmost town of Raftel (thank god Sabo helped him with his geography or else he would have gotten lost). Ace vaguely remembered visiting when he was younger, but for the most part they had barely left the capital.

After leaving his horse at the stables at the outskirts of town, Ace dashed towards the ocean, willing his legs to move faster as the sun rose higher into the sky. He couldn't bring himself to care when he bumped into early risers.

"Marco!" Ace yelled, but deep inside, he knew he wouldn't get a response.

He finally made it to the port, eyes darting from ship to ship, until he spotted an unmistakeable haircut. He bolted up on deck, not bothering to ask for permission to board.

"I had a feeling that you would follow me," Marco said, but he remained still, facing away from him.

Ace felt his stomach sink. "Why won't you look at me?"

"C-can't." Ace barely heard him, words more like a choke. "I'm going home now, Ace."

"Why didn't you tell me though? You didn't want me to come with you?"

"It's not my choice to make, yoi."

Ace snorted. Something was out of stubborn Marco's hands? Yeah right.

"It's not a joke, Ace! I  _want_ to bring you home with me, but this is your home, your family!"

"Moby is too!"

Unfortunately, it was like Marco never heard him. "Have you stopped to think about what your role is here?"

"I-" Ace started, but his thoughts stopped almost immediately. Sure, he helped with training and the knights, but he after all this time, it had barely crossed his mind:

He was the oldest. Gol-Portgas D. Ace was the crown prince of Raftel- not that he had done much to show it in his time here.

"Marco…" Marco was right, but even so, Ace didn't want to let him go. Marco tried to tug himself out of Ace's hold, but Ace just pulled him closer, pressing his cheek against Marco's back. "Please…" he whispered.

"Ace," he sighed, placing a hand over Ace's, which were on his chest, "you know I can't stay here. I've been gone from home for too long."

Ace had nothing to say to that, so Marco continued. "I've made some of the happiest memories of my life here, Ace." He closed his eyes, letting the memories flow in: the library, the picnic under the tree just the two of them, the festival… all of those memories brought a smile to his face. This family had already unforgettably wormed their way into his heart- well, more like crashed into it and settled there on their volition. "But I can't stay. As much as I want to, I have a duty at home."

"You've always been like that," Ace said, but voiced no protest further than that.

"I know it's far, Ace, but we'll see each other again. I'll talk to Pops about strengthening our relations with Raftel."

"Why do you always have to do things the formal way?"

"Don't you sigh at me, and I know you're rolling your eyes too."

Ace snickered quietly, but Marco still heard him. "See? That's the Ace I know." Marco squeezed his hand. "Being sad doesn't suit you."

"I know, but it's just hard."

Neither of them had to reminisce about those words. They had been close since the day they met: best friends at first, yet developing into something more. At the same time, it was something that they never spoke about, and it would probably remain that way even at that moment.

"This isn't goodbye, Ace. Just see you later, yoi."

"Can you at least turn around and say goodbye properly?"

The thought was so tempting. He wanted nothing more than to turn around, to hug Ace tight and tell him everything was going to be okay. But he steeled himself, even though on the inside, his heart clenched painfully. "I can't see you, Ace," Marco said. "Otherwise, I might not leave."

Both of them fell quiet in that moment, soaking in the other's presence as much as they could. They didn't know when they would see each other next after all.

The men of the ship began to holler, breaking their perfect little moment into pieces.

"I-it's time," Marco said, trying not to choke.

"I always knew I'd have to let you go," Ace whispered. "Close your eyes?"

Marco complied, and he felt Ace's grip loosen. Yes, it would be best if Ace left this way, so Marco wasn't tempted to look.

But he was wrong- oh so wrong. He almost jumped when fingers brushed against his cheek. Before he knew it, soft lips gently pressed against his own, vanishing as quickly as they had touched.

When he reopened his eyes, he was standing alone.

* * *

Ace didn't return back to the castle for a few days, so he wasn't surprised when Rouge greeted him with a scolding like the day he had arrived with his brothers. "Sorry, Ma," he apologized. "I just…. needed some time to think."

Rouge's frown only deepened, but her anger faded away. "Of course, my little fireball."

They ended up in the gardens, under their tree of course. It was calming to look up at the sunlight beaming through the branches.

"Ma… I'm supposed to become king, aren't I?"

Rouge was quiet initially as she stroked Ace's raven locks."So you did make it before Marco left."

"I wish he would have talked to me though, but I kinda get it." Even if he didn't want to. "Ma, where do I stand?"

She sighed, exhausted and heavy. "First and foremost, you are my son, Ace."

"I know, Ma." Son of Portgas D. Rouge: something he could be proud of.

"By tradition, you are first in line for the throne. You're supposed to take over as king once I retire as queen."

Ace felt his stomach drop as his pulse sped up. Is this how Marco felt? The reality had only come to him in a moment, but he couldn't imagine living with it: having people rely on you for the future. He couldn't do it. It wasn't for him, especially not alone.

"I have to do it, right?" His eyes were shut tight as he struggled to get the words out. He didn't want to face his mother like this: as a disappointment. He couldn't say that he couldn't do it. All he could do was breathe.

"Tradition doesn't matter to me, Ace," Rouge said, and Ace found the courage to reopen his eyes. Rouge smiled at him, gentle as ever, and in that moment, they were just mother and son- not a queen and a crown prince. The pressure released and Ace curled against his mother as sobs wracked his body.

The whispers, the shushes, the kisses to his forehead made him feel like he was a child. He buried his face in her dress, hiding his red face.

"You are my son, Ace," she repeated. "Know you always have a place in this family no matter what you do. I want you to do what makes you happy, and I can clearly see that that thing is love."

"Thank you, Ma," Ace whispered, voice still weak, yet he managed to bring a smile to his face. "Thank you."

* * *

Marco was welcomed back with open arms- relatively.

"Oh my god!"

"Welcome home, bird brain!"

"We missed you!"

"It's good to have you safe and home, my son."

Pops chuckled as the entire family ended up a heap on the ground of a group hug, though Izo fearlessly whacked his head.

"What were you thinking running off like that?" he huffed. He was still a part of the group hug nonetheless. "Stupid, worrying us like that."

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

The warmth of being with his family again filled his heart, filled that nagging emptiness that had settled into his core after leaving Raftel (and Ace). The ship's crew had been kind, but Marco had kept to himself. He just couldn't bring himself to socialize too much on his journey home. He had really missed this.

That is, until someone finally brought up the elephant in the room, and of course, that person had to be Pops.

"And what of Ace, Marco?"

Everyone fell silent, and Marco''s initial grin vanished as if it had never existed in the first place. His brothers could probably hear his heart breaking. Without words, the family moved into the parlor for privacy. All eyes were on Marco, and that only made it harder for the words to come out. If Ace was here with him now, he'd probably laugh (Marco didn't get nervous often when speaking) then take his hand and encourage him to continue.

"Ace…" he hesitated for a moment. "Ace is fine."

They released a collective sigh of relief. Thatch and Haruta even laughed. "Where is he? Fall asleep on the carriage ride?"

Marco's solemn eyes never changed though, and the jest at their brother dissipated like a fleeting mist on a windy day. The quiet returned.

"I can't make decisions for him," Marco said. He looked down into his lap. He didn't want to see everyone else's reactions. "He's safe. He's… home."

The silence erupted into an uproar of "What the hell are you talking about? Home is right here with us!"

No words of reassurance he could say could make the rowdiness in the room calm, so Marco decided in that moment to just be outright with the truth facing all of them.

"Ace got his memories back. He found his real family." The silence was telling: their hearts broke just like his. "I know that I wanted to bring him back no matter what, but I just couldn't." Marco closed his eyes, but all he could see was Ace's smile. "He was happy."

He felt a large, comforting hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at Pops. "Are you sure, son?" His eyes were soft as he frowned.

"Y-yeah. We'll see him again."

He wasn't so sure of how convincing his words actually were though. After all, how could he convince his family if he couldn't even convince himself?

* * *

Marco limbs felt like tar melting into his bed, and even though he heard Pops enter, he barely moved to greet him. "How long have you known?" he asked instead. He was met with a momentary silence, but Pops had never been one to avoid questions for too long.

"Ace always seemed a little familiar to me, but it was when I found out that Roger died."

"Ah, right." Marco closed his eyes, thinking back to that day. "He was running around with that fake mustache all day- and I had to replace my ink." It was hard to think about: these memories, fond memories, of Ace.

Would it be all they had left?

"Pops, I… I'm sorry I didn't bring Ace home."

Pops's warm hand rubbed Marco's shoulder, though it did little to subside his guilt. "I trust you, my son. It will work out in the end."

Marco  _wanted_  to believe it, but deep inside, he didn't feel it.

* * *

He didn't want to sit around moping all day, so Marco tried to pour himself into his work. His responsibilities must have piled up while he was in Moby, and sitting around would only make things worse for him. He hadn't thought about it much on the trip back, but he decided that forcing himself into thinking about it would help.

It would be a good distraction.

Marco rolled out of bed with a yawn, running over what he probably missed while he was gone. Inevitably, there would be a stack of paperwork that he would need to finalize, and he knew that he needed to write a few apology letters to potential suitors. He had missed meetings with them while away, but to him, it wasn't too much of a tragedy.

He made sure to stop to grab a quick bite for breakfast, but it was impossible to ignore the way his siblings stared at him. Marco just pretended that it wasn't happening as he asked Haruta about his morning.

As usual, Marco left the dining room first. He was busy most days and today- and the next few days- wouldn't be any different, especially when playing catch up.

He opened the door to his study room in the library, feeling a strange anticipation for his work. However, upon seeing his desk, he frowned: it was cleared, only a small stack of paperwork on the right-hand side. "What…?"

"We held the fort down for you." Marco turned around. Of all people that would have followed him, he should have known that it would be Izo. Well, there goes his distraction.

"Ah, I see. Thank you." But even he flinched at how insincere he sounded.

"You're too obvious, you know," Izo huffed, crossing his arms. "We missed you and all you've done since getting back is avoid us."

"I have not-"

"Even now you're just trying to do paperwork instead. Just sit down and talk to us!"

Marco didn't answer.

"At least tell me why."

"I don't know why, Izo." It was his honest response. "I… I didn't even notice it myself."

"Nobody wants to see you this way, Marco. And it's just plain sad since we  _know_  what's eating away at you!"

He knew that deep down inside of course. This was a family tighter knit than any other, though Raftel's royal family was certainly a contender for that title. It was clear that Rouge loved her sons more than anything else, and the bonds between brothers reminded him of home.

Izo pulled him away and he found himself lounging in front of an unlit fireplace as if Izo was his therapist. "It's hard without Ace."

"Now that's hardly a confession," Izo said. "I swear, when you weren't busy, you two may as well have been attached at the hip."

Marco could have sworn he saw Izo smirk, but he ignored it. "We were not."

"Ah, poor naïve Marco. You realize we've had to tell some of your suitors that Ace is ' _most assuredly not a suitor'_ , though now-"

"Wait." Marco sat up. "You actually had to say that?"

"You never realized why some of them were reluctant to stay?"

"Ah." When he thought about it some of the girls never really met his gaze, though he had brushed it off as bashful behavior to appeal to him.

"I'm not surprised that you didn't notice though. You never wanted it to work out in the first place."

"What are you saying?" Marco clenched his teeth, on the verge of snapping. "Izo I  _have_ to do this! It's tradition!"

"So what?" Izo snapped back, voice rising. "Since when has Pops ever cared about tradition?"

He was right about that. What kind of king adopted all his children, calling them all princes despite blood?

"You never did it to follow tradition of a political marriage. You did it to run away! Run away from your feelings for Ace!"

"What was I supposed to do, Izo?" Marco yelled before he could deny it. Both of them were standing face to face now.

"The Marco I know doesn't run away! The Ace I know doesn't either, and yet none of you can just stand up and face each other!"

"How could I?" Marco's voice dropped to a shaky whisper. "Ace… Ace meant so much to me, and if I lost that, if something went wrong… I don't know what I would do."

The tension dissipated into mere silence as Izo eased Marco back onto the couch, rubbing his back gently. "It must have been hard for you to leave. You sounded so happy when you called us."

"I… yeah, I was. I missed you guys though."

"Not as much as you'll miss Ace though." Marco felt his cheeks heat up. It's not like he could deny it now. "Honestly, I just wish that you two stopped to talk about it. We were all getting sick of your pathetic pining."

"Well, we didn't  _talk_ about it exactly." Marco closed his eyes, thinking back to that moment with Ace. He could still feel the subtle touch upon his lips, and he couldn't help reaching to ensure that it was just a memory.

"Oh my god," Izo gasped. Marco looked at him, only to see wide eyes and Izo's signature smirk. "You did  _not_!"

"What exactly are you thinking?" Marco's face was completely red by now and he knew Izo could read anyone, especially him, like a book. "It was just… a goodbye k-"

"I  _have_ to tell everyone."

"Wait, Izo." But Izo was already out the door. Marco put his hand against his face. There's no way that his brothers would leave him alone once Izo's gossip reached their ears.

"Oh and, Marco?" Izo popped his head back into the doorway, grin ever present. "I think this will finally get you talking again, don't you?"

He sighed as Izo vanished again. "Ah, Ace. If you were here, you'd laugh at me."

* * *

The last month felt more like a year to Marco, but he finally got back on his feet.

Parts of it had been hard and lonely, reminding him of Ace: Thatch had decided to move into Izo's room, leaving Marco to his privacy. It was strange sleeping in a room alone, especially after sharing a bed with Ace. While he missed the noise of sharing a room, quiet mornings were nice too.

Though mornings could be quiet, the quiet didn't last too long when he picked up with his work for the day. With Ace gone, Marco took over his responsibilities as commander. Being out in the barracks to help with training was better than holing himself in his study doing paperwork and writing apology letters to suitors. It gave him the opportunity to spar and chat with his brothers.

Without a doubt, his family had been his strongest pillar of support.

Something they all had to come to terms with, especially Marco, was Ace.

They all missed him of course. He was family as much as anyone else, and inside they knew that they would see him again. But they missed him so much of course, that they called, and Marco's heart pounded every second that snail phone rang.

" _I would have called sooner if I knew we had a snail phone."_

" _You could have asked your mother, you know."_ The teasing left his lips naturally, as if he and Ace were still right next to each other.

" _I miss you, turkey."_

Marco chuckled. " _I got a promotion, I see. I miss you too, Ace, but hey, I'm not the only one."_

" _Hi, Ace!"_ his family chorused behind him as Pops chuckled in the back.

Marco handed the snail phone off to Izo first, who started chattering away. They had been roommates after all, so no doubt they had much to say to each other, though Haruta got impatient and snatched the phone from him. That ignited chaos, everyone soon reaching and yelling for their turn. Things only calmed down once Pops cleared his throat, and the phone was his.

"How are you, my son?"

The gentleness in his words, the pride in his eyes as he spoke to them was almost indescribable, but it was  _home._

The phone finally made it back to Marco's hands, but unfortunately, Ace had to leave. " _You better not be moping, Marco."_

" _If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're scolding me."_

" _A nice change for once, wouldn't you say?"_ Ace's wonderful laughter bubbled up right into Marco's heart, blowing his sadness away. " _We'll talk soon, right?"_

" _Of course, fireball,"_ Marco said, laughing when he heard Ace strangled, little whine.

A bit of sadness still lingered in his heart when the line went dead, but Marco smiled instead, thinking of Ace's smile, his laugh.

Yes, things were weird without Ace, but they were adjusting.

Adjusting, but Marco couldn't say he had moved on. He always knew his feelings for Ace were there, and his family would kill him if he ever tried to deny it. So he stopped trying to force himself, and thankfully, Pops agreed.

"I'm glad you're finally over that nonsense! Gurarara!"

Now after a month, he could accept living like this.

And yet, after that month things changed when Thatch knocked on his door. "Marco?"

He looked up from his paperwork, folding up his reading glasses and suppressing a sigh at Thatch's shit-eating grin. "Is there something you need?"

"Another suitor showed up for you, birdy!"

Marco frowned. Another? Word should have been out that he was no longer searching for a spouse. "Ah, thank you for informing me, I guess?"

"No problem!" Marco rolled his eyes as Thatch left.

Well, they came all this way. He might as well let them down easy.

A knock sounded on his door about half an hour later, but by then, Marco had returned to his work. "Come in," he called absent-mindedly.

He still hadn't looked up when the door creaked open and shut close. "I apologize that you came all this way, but it's been made public that I am not looking for suitors any longer."

"Even if it's me, turkey?"

Marco's heart might as well have stopped when that voice hit his ears. He stood up so fast that his papers were knocked to the floor, forgotten.

Ace, glowing and beautiful, stood at his door, fiddling with the fancy coat he was wearing.

"What? Surprised to see me?" Ace grinned as wide as ever, strolling right up to Marco, who was frozen in place. "C'mon, say something."

"You're a beautiful as the day I left," Marco breathed. His body acted on its own as he wrapped his arms around Ace to pull him close. There they stood as Marco just took it all in: Ace's warmth, Ace's scent. He was here and this was real.

"Aw, Marco. I said we'd talk soon, rem- ah!"

Marco couldn't help himself. He had been desperate for Ace, for that feeling against his lips. Ace gasped as Marco kissed him fiercely, running fingers through his dark hair and making him melt. Marco felt like he could soar when Ace pressed back, hands finding the back of his neck. All that existed in that moment were the two of them, bodies pressed close.

They broke apart in silence, foreheads touching as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"What… what are you doing here?"

"Ah, can we sit?"

They sat reverse of their normal position, with Marco's head in Ace's lap. Marco understood why Ace liked this so much now. The fingers playing with the tips of his hair made Marco want to stay like that forever.

"I… I moped a lot when you left," Ace admitted, and Marco could clearly see how he was blushing. "And well, Ma talked to me all about responsibility and stuff. I mean, I guess I never really thought about being the crown prince and all, even with my memories back."

"How did the talk go?" Marco asked. He understood such responsibilities, though he hated to imagine being suddenly burdened with all of them at once.

"Well, Sabo was already handling a lot of the paperwork stuff. He's a lot better at it than I am, and well. I'm pretty sure he'd make a better king than I would."

"You'd be a great king, Ace." Marco reached for one of the hands playing with his hair, squeezing it and kissing it. He wanted Ace by his side, but if he needed the reassurance, Marco would give it to him.

Ace mumbled something quietly in response, but smiled nonetheless.

"I'll be there to support you, just a call away."

"Stupid Marco."

Marco sat up. "Excuse me, yoi?"

"Oh come on. You can't kiss me like that and act oblivious, Marco," Ace said indignantly. "I don't want your support. It'd be weird if my husband was the king of another country!"

Both of them fell silent at that moment as Ace looked away, but Marco was sure that his own face was equally as red as Ace's. "A-Ace?"

"I  _am_ here as a suitor, you know? I thought since you were always searching for a suitor that you'd be fine with it, but-"

"I-I am! But are you sure? Your mom, your brothers-"

"Yes, they're my family! But this is my family too!" Ace exclaimed. He kneeled up on the couch,facing Marco. "I know the trip is long, but it's just a trip! I can go see Luffy, Sabo, and Ma anytime I want! I can come  _here_  anytime to see Pops and everyone else anytime I want, but there's only one of you!" He thrust his arms around Marco, practically sitting in his lap at this point (not that Marco was complaining). "I want to be where you are."

Marco hugged Ace back, burying his face into the crook of Ace's neck. How could he have been so blind? Ace was finally here with him, and he had almost ruined his chance.

"God, I'm an idiot."

"Yes you are, but I love you for that." Ace pulled back just enough, holding Marco's head in his hands. Marco gazed back into his eyes, reaching up to Ace's cheeks.

In that moment, their love was sealed wordlessly, but in perfection. Their bodies moved together in harmony, as if nothing else existed. Finally after dancing around each other for so long, they could belong to each other in heart and soul.

"Marry me?"

"I thought you would never ask."

They arrived in front of the doors to the dining room hand-in-hand much later, clothes suspiciously crooked and hair disheveled.

"Shall we tell them the good news?"

"Let's be honest. I think Thatch already told everyone, and well, Ma's here too, so she'll back him up on that."

The audible chatter and laughter behind the door was the same as usual, but somehow, it seemed to confirm their thoughts.

"Can you imagine the chaos of having everyone together?"

"Well, we'll know soon."

"I can't wait to marry you. Let's go in, Marco!"

"Wait a second, Ace." Ace stopped in his tracks, turning back to Marco.

"Yes?"

Marco kissed him again, and it held the same magic and warmth as the first one, and Marco would get to experience that for the rest of his life. "I love you too."


	18. Epilogue

"I can't believe my little fireball is getting married!" Rouge cried, hugging Ace close.

"Ma, calm down. You'll mess up your jewelry," Ace mumbled, helping adjust her circlet. She finally pulled back, helping to straighten Ace' hair again. "Where's Sabo and Lu?"

"Sabo is making sure that Luffy stays away from the kitchen while Thatch and Sanji cook. Someone has to protect that wedding cake."

The mere mention of the feast would make Ace's stomach growl under normal circumstances, but today, it was butterflies for him.

Rouge stroked Ace's hair with a smile. "Calm down. Everything will be fine."

Ace suppressed a laugh. Since when was "everything fine" with this family?

"You have the ring?" Ace nodded, brushing over it with his thumb. The opal embedded into the band glowed a gentle blue, perfect to match Marco. He'd been wearing it through the engagement, but he would be exchanging a matching one with Marco today according to Moby's traditions. The rings themselves had been created in Raftel though, bands smelted from family artifacts.

The entire wedding had taken months to plan and the combined efforts of everyone in both families. The planner was somewhere in Marco's study, splashed with notes about traditions from each country. This wedding was a mix of their homes, and Ace and Marco thought it was perfect.

A knock on the door almost jolted Ace out of his suit. Haruta peaked his head into the room with a grin. "Rouge, they need you in the throne room. Ace, you should head up as well."

Ace felt his legs turn to jelly, but a gentle kiss on the forehead from Rouge gave him the the strength to stand. Haruta walked with him halfway, but before he knew it, he stood in front of the throne room's western entrance. He could hear the chatter behind the door, making his heart race. He closed his eyes, trying to run over his vows in his head, but forgetting words here and there as they tangled on his tongue.

The chatter suddenly died down, but that only increased his heart rate. The doors started to creak open, and that's when the panic truly began to set in.  _No, I need more time!_

It was much too late for that however. Now the doors were open for everyone to see him as a nervous wreck.

But he looked across the hall towards the east entrance, and all his nervousness melted away in an instant when he caught Marco's gaze. He smiled at Ace, and Ace wanted nothing more in that moment than to run into his arms. He saved his energy for walking up the aisle, remembering to count his steps to the music.

Whitebeard and Rouge waited for them at the altar, faces beaming with pride, but as Ace and Marco got closer, they too faded away.

Finally, they stood hand-in-hand, and everything was perfect.

"Well," Marco whispered, pausing to kiss Ace's ring finger, "it took us a while, but we're finally here."

Marco's words just brought Ace back: it had taken literal years and Ace getting both his family and memory back for them to finally get together! Even so…

"I wouldn't change a thing."

He meant what he said from the bottom of his heart, and as Marco kissed him, officially as his husband this time, he couldn't help thinking that they had finally gotten their happy ending.


End file.
